The Cabinet recently granted initial approval to the Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act, 2023, which includes an extension of maternity leave from 112 days (16 weeks) to 120 days.
The decision was reached during a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her office in Dhaka recently.
According to Cabinet Secretary Md Mahbub Hossain, female workers will now be entitled to 120 days of maternity leave, which can be availed as 16 weeks—eight weeks before the baby’s birth and eight weeks after.
Women can choose when to take this leave, either before or after delivery.
Furthermore, the proposed law has relaxed the conditions for the formation of trade unions.
In companies with over 3,000 employees, the signatures of 15 per cent of workers are required to establish a trade union, while companies with fewer than 3,000 workers will need the signatures of 20 per cent.
This is a change from the existing law, which demands 20 per cent signatures in both cases. In the case of a group of companies, the signatures of 20 per cent of workers (rather than 30 per cent) will be needed to establish a trade union.
Additionally, the proposed law permits appeals against decisions of the Labour Appeal Tribunal to be made to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, instead of the High Court Division. This is because the tribunal is headed by a High Court judge.
