Bangladesh
Planned changes to the sections on Health and Hygiene
in the Bangladesh Factories Act give only a small opportunity
for workers to achieve safer and healthier work. A new
clause (84: Information about dangerous building and
machinery) states:
1. where any worker finds that any machinery or
building used by the workers in any establishment
in which he is employed is in such dangerous condition
that it is likely to cause physical injury to any
worker at any time, he shall inform the employer of
it in writing immediately after it has come to his
notice.
2. if the employer fails to take appropriate action
of such information within a reasonable time and any
injury is caused to any worker because of the use
of such equipment, machinery or building, he shall
be liable to pay compensation to the worker injured
at a rate double the rate of compensation payable
for such an injury under Chapter XII.
The bulk of the proposed changes relate to changed
descriptions (Inspector General rather than Chief Inspector;
Employer rather than Manager; Establishment rather than
Factory) and the shift from inches to metres. Power
to set or require particular arrangements have been
deleted.
There is no suggestion that the new legislation should
involve a shift to the 'new model' approach discussed
above and below. One result of the OHSEI mission to
Bangladesh may be further activity to identify trade
union interest in more substantial change.
The OHSEI-BILS Advanced Course for Trainers on OHSE
was held in Dhaka 14 - 18 October 2002. The participants
were twenty four persons (eight women). They represented
a wide variety of industries (cigarette manufacturing,
garments, printing, road transport, gas industry, electricity,
public service, sugar/wine, banks, building and construction,
railways, electronics, ship building, jute) and positions
in the union (2 were full-time union officers). Seven
had completed Modules 1 and 2 of the LO-FTF trainer
training program and four had also completed Module.
Eight of the participants had completed the JILAF
program although not all had conducted any training.
As part of the training schedule the participants used
a variation of the JILAF POSITIVE inspection checklist
during an visit to a local tannery. This tannery is
organised and the union has been doing some work to
improve occupational health and safety outcomes although
there remains much to be done.
At the close of the Advanced course the participants
committed themselves to raising the profile of occupational
health, safety and environment in their unions and to
look for ways to conduct training of union activists
to take up occupational health and safety.
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