Assessment of Legal Rights of Workers in Bangladesh: A Study on Selected Industrial Sectors
AUTHORS
Julia Parveen,Department of Business Administration, Premier University, Chattogram, Bangladesh
Moniruzzaman Bhuiyan,Department of Statistics, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
Anupam Das Gupta*,Department of Finance, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
Mohammed Jamal Uddin,Department of Finance, University of Chittagong, Chattogram, Bangladesh
ABSTRACT
Developing countries are struggling in economic development and trying to achieve sustainable development at a reasonable timeframe while keeping pace with world economic development, with the debate of achieving this goal at the cost of the quality of workers' lives, security, and opportunity. Countries like Bangladesh, which has comparatively cheap labor opportunities, are drawing more attention from concerned authorities (the International Labor Organization). This study aimed to assess some legal issues related to decent work and worker's rights in the selected seven industrial sectors in Chattogram. The study was conducted during the period from June to October 2022 to collect primary data for 392 samples using a structured questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were then done using SPSS 26. This study revealed a few critical findings. Giving appointment letters and ID cards in sample firms belonging to RMG, health and diagnostic, and beauty parlors is more common than other firms in sectors like restaurants, construction, transport, and aluminum. Maintaining the regulation of daily working hours is more visible in formal sectors, such as RMG and health and diagnostics. At the same time, three-wheeler vehicle' drivers are also motivated to work more time (in this case, 12 hours/7 days with some exceptions) due to earning more money. In this study, emergency fire exits are present in industrial settings, while the remaining respondents disagree in other sectors. Gender discrimination is more evident in the industrial workplace. Based on the findings, we suggest that workers' awareness and the supervision of regulatory agencies are highly sought after in all sectors, including formal and informal. More individual sectoral samples and regional coverage would help the study generalize the findings for policy implications.
KEYWORDS
Assessment of Legal Rights, Decent work, worker's rights, Bangladesh
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