Union leaders learn collective bargaining skills

A three-day workshop held in Dhaka 23-25 February 2015 brought together 39 such trainers from the National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE) ready-made garment sector federations.


While Bangladesh labour law provides workers with many rights, in practice workers still face challenges to ensure that they receive the rights to which they are entitled.
 
Unions have an important role to play in this regard and ILO, in collaboration with its Programme for Workers Activities (ACTRAV) is carrying out a series of capacity building activities aimed at strengthening union educators in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. They in turn will return to the factory floor to pass on their knowledge to workers in the sector.
 
A three-day workshop held in Dhaka 23-25 February 2015 brought together 39 such trainers from the National Coordination Committee for Workers Education (NCCWE) ready-made garment sector federations. During the event they got to grips with a wide range of issues relating to promoting decent wages and collective bargaining.
 
Speaking at the opening, ILO Deputy Country Director Gagan Rajbhandari said “This training will equip unions with the skills to ensure that the rights of workers are not only better known but also honoured.”
 
The core group taking part in the training is expected to implement follow up training and outreach education programmes to at least 2,700 union leaders and organizers in the RMG industry. This in turn should help lead to improved working conditions in the sector.
 
Speaking at the event, Ariel Castro from ACTRAV stressed the importance of building capacity within unions of these basic skills.

“The main function of unions is to negotiate and bargain. This is how they can demonstrate real value and improve the lives of workers. Collective bargaining is the basic step. In addition to wage benefits it relates to all issues ranging from factory welfare facilities to contract agreements,” he said.

“During this training participants will learn how to negotiate better. They will be able to understand where management is coming from as well as how to make informed proposals based on real evidence rather than out of the blue demands,” he added.
 
The workshop took place as part of the ILO’s Promoting Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work in Bangladesh (FPRW) project, which is funded by the US Department of Labor. Also taking part in the event were trainers from the Ministry of Labour and Employment