Labour disputes are common in Bangladesh’s industrial economy. This type of conflict happens from disagreement over wages, working conditions, contracts, or security. Effective dispute resolution is important for a better workplace and to protect workers’ rights. Bangladesh’s labour law provides multiple mechanisms to settle conflicts.
It also examines the specialized role of the Labour Court, the support role of trade unions, and the importance of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to reduce court backlogs. Also, how modern HR/payroll software can help prevent disputes by ensuring compliance and transparency.
What Is Labour Dispute in Bangladesh?
A labour dispute starts when there is disagreement between the employer and the employee. The disagreements’ causes vary for different reasons. In Bangladesh, labour disputes commonly involve issues such as delayed wages, unfair termination or dismissal, breach of contracts, discrepancies in working hours or overtime pay, unsafe working conditions, discrimination, and many more.
What Are the Key Labour Laws for Resolving Labour Disputes in Bangladesh?
To settle disputes, every labour problem needs to follow the labour law of Bangladesh. These labour laws protect the labourers from unfair treatment by their employer.
- Factories Act, 1965 (Act No. XXXVIII of 1965): it ensures the health, safety, and welfare of labourers in factories. This law sets standards for working conditions and requires compensation for workplace injuries. Workers can raise disputes under this law if employers violate any conditions.
- Payment of Wages Act, 1936 (Act No. IV of 1936): It ensures the timely payment of wages and prohibits unlawful deductions. This law provides remedies for workers to claim unpaid wages or illegal deductions via the labour courts.
- (Arbitration Act, 2001 (Act No. 2 of 2001): This law defines that workers and employers can resolve disputes outside court by using an arbitrator. The arbitrator’s decision will be final and legally binding.
- Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (Act No. XLII of 2006): This is the main labour law. It ensures the employment terms, wages, working conditions, trade unions, and worker rights of labourers. This law explains how workers can file complaints and how the labour courts will work.
- Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2023: The 2023 Act bill, passed Nov 2023, states that maternity leave will be extended from 112 to 120 days and relaxed thresholds for union formation (15% signatures in large firms vs. 20%).
- Labour Court Ordinance, 1969 (Ordinance No. XXIV of 1969) – Originally provided the statutory basis for forming labour courts in Bangladesh (later integrated into the 2006 Act). It defines court composition and powers (e.g., courts are chaired by district judges with employer and worker members).
- Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969 (Ordinance No. XXIII of 1969): This law established a formal labour court system and trade union rights. It guarantees freedom of association for trade unions and sets up Labour Courts to adjudicate industrial disputes. Many of its dispute-resolution provisions were later absorbed into the 2006 Act.
- Standing Orders (under Bangladesh Labour Rules, 2015): These are for workplace rules that every company must follow. It includes leave, discipline, suspension, and termination. If an employer violates these rules, then workers can raise a legal dispute.
How Are Labour Disputes Resolved in Bangladesh?
Bangladesh’s labour law system allows multi-tiered approach to resolve the dispute. These disputes were held between the employee and the employer before they went to court. Section 210 of the Labour Act explicitly mandates alternative dispute resolution (ADR) for industrial conflicts.
Negotiation
This step is for direct negotiation between the employee and the employer. This negotiation involves open discussion and compromise without any third party. Both sides try to reach a mutually acceptable solution. Also, both party wants their best interest to be represented in any decision.
Mediation (Conciliation)
If negotiation fails between both of them, then the dispute may be referred to a neutral facilitator. In Bangladesh’s context, this step is often called conciliation under the Labour Act.
This conciliator can be a government-appointed or a private person.
They guide the discussion between them. A conciliator doesn’t make any decisions but helps both parties to understand each other’s situation.
Arbitration
If both stages failed, then the parties can agree to refer the dispute to arbitration. Under the Labour Act, arbitration makes the final decision by hearing both sides. An arbitrator is often a retired judge or expert in this matter.
In Bangladesh law, “the arbitrator shall give a binding decision, and it shall be valid for sixty days.” This means the arbitrator’s final decision should be in action within this period.
Litigation
When all the procedure fails, then they can take the dispute to the labor court. Litigation is the most adversarial method. Here, the written complaints and evidence need to be submitted. After these formal complaints, courts conduct a hearing and make a decision.
What Is the Role of the Labour Court in Labour Dispute Resolution?
The Bangladesh Labour Court provides a judicial forum for unresolved labour disputes. By government authorization, each court is chaired by an appointed district judge & includes two representative members from both parties.
Filing Procedures: Under Section 33 of the Labour Act, a worker must file a written complaint to the employer within 30 days of the issue arising. If the employer’s decision is not accepted by the worker, then they can file a written application to the nearest labour court. There will be no court fee for filing such a complaint.
Hearings: Once the case is filed, there will be a hearing to examine the evidence. In the trial judge will hear both parties and witness the testimony and documents.
Appeals and Enforcement: After the hearing judge will issue a judgment. Any party can appeal this decision to the Labour Appellate Tribunal within 60 days. But if anyone appeals, then the tribunal decision will be the final decision.
How Do Trade Unions Support Labour Dispute Resolution in Bangladesh?
Trade unions prevent and resolve labour disputes in Bangladesh. These organizations represent the employees’ interests in negotiations with the management. They often lead to solving different types of workers’ problems, like wages, benefits, and working conditions.
Also, when conflicts arise, union officials help to resolve the issue. A union can organize actions to press for the resolution of disputes that aren’t settled informally. Also, they discuss with higher officials in the government or the company to resolve it. Union may participate in conciliation or arbitration as a worker’s party in an industrial dispute.
Why Is Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Important in Bangladesh?
ADR methods like negotiation, mediation/conciliation, and arbitration are vital for resolving disputes quickly. ADR can reduce the burden on the labour courts by settling the cases outside of the court. Bangladesh labour courts have huge pressure and an overload of cases. Around 21 thousand cases are pending in the labour courts. This means workers have to wait a long time to resolve the issue, which causes many problems for both parties. ADR methods are designed to be faster and less costly.
Moreover, many employees don’t know the process of disputing the problem. They go directly to the labour court and file a case. Which is why the Labour Act itself requires ADR before litigation. Disputes must be referred to conciliation/arbitration before filing in court. In practice, this means most cases go through mediation steps first, allowing many to settle without full trials.
How Can HR and Payroll Software Prevent Labour Disputes in Bangladesh?
HR plays a crucial role in the big industry in handling employees. HR basically maintains the employment contracts, promotions, leave, and other records. Also, HR issues the salary of every employee on time. Which is very important from the main cause of the dispute. This type of conflict can happen because of work pressure and human error.
But in the modern day, the HR department can be relieved from all the overloaded work by using HR and Payroll software. This software ensures transparency, accuracy, and compliance in the management.
Software like PiHR offers integrated HR and payroll solutions to all the big and small companies. Also, many small companies can’t afford a dedicated HR team, which can be a big issue.
By adopting an automated HR software like PiHR, companies can track every employee record like Attendance Management, Task Management, Payroll, and many more. This way, it eliminates errors and misunderstandings that often lead to conflicts.
Final Words
Labour dispute resolution in Bangladesh is structured within a legal framework and a variety of mechanisms. The Bangladesh Labour Act (2006) ensures that all the rules and rights are provided for resolving the conflict.
Often, most disputes are resolved now outside of the court by negotiation, mediation, or arbitration. Which can save time, money, and career. But if the dispute goes to the court, then the process will be slow and sometimes costly. So, all the companies should use the digitalized form of HR and payroll software like PIHR to prevent any problem or any dispute.