AMM-304

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PRACTICE OF SOCIAL COMPLIENCE IN AN APPAREL INDUSTRY

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PRACTICE OF SOCIAL COMPLIENCE IN AN APPAREL INDUSTRY

Prepared by: Md Kausar Ul Arif Khan ID- 081011321 Group- B 6th Semester (AMM)

Prepared for: Farruque M Masud Head of the AMM department.

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January 31, 2011 Farruque M Masud Course teacher

Sub: Practice of social compliance in apparel industry.

Dear Sir, I am pleased to enclose my above subject assignment as desire by you. If you need any clarification please let me know.

Sincerely, Md Kausar Ul Arif Khan

Acknowledgement

Ready garment industry is the most happening industry of Bangladesh. Because of Mr. FARRUQUE M. MASUD , our honorable teacher who has given us this opportunity to research on the implementation of Social Compliance on garment industry of Bangladesh, I came to know the vast practical knowledge about that. For this reason first of all I want to thank almighty Allah, Than to Mr. FARRUQUE M. MASUD . After that to the Sepal group who helped Me by giving opportunity, data & several more things. May allah help me to finish the assignment on due time & finish it properly, than outcome of the assignment will be good.

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Table of Contents Page No 1. INTRODUCTION a. Objective

b. Methodology

01 02 02 02 02 03 03

c. Limitation
d. Scope

2. ACADEMIC
a. Social Compliance

b. Social compliance for Bangladesh

05 c. Labor Act 1965

16 34 70 77 77

d. Labor Act 2006 e. Implementation

3. OBSERVATION

a. Company Profile
4. CONCLUSION

100 5. RECOMMENDATION 6. BIBLIOGRAPHY 101 101

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Introduction
The Textile and Apparel business is one of the most globalized industries in the world involving more than 10 percent of world business. In 2000, the international Labor Organization (ILO) reported that there were 30 million people employed in just the manufacturing of clothing and textile products during the 1990s . By 2005, this sector had grown to 40 million people. Globally, the clothing and textile sector accounts for$350 billion a year (ILO2005). Continuing changes in the market for apparel goods exerts cost-cutting pressures that affect all workers in the apparel and textile industries. As consumers become more price conscious, retailers gain bargaining power over apparel producers, and increasing competition limits the ability of producers to pass on costs to consumers, apparels firms are likely to respond by relying more on foreign production and boosting productivity through investments in technology and new work structures. The Bangladeshi garment sector is highly integrated into the worldwide production system. The clothing industry in Bangladesh grew dramatically from the late 1970s onwards, as apparel MNCs began to traverse the globe in search of low input costs. As Asian countries such as Hong Kong and South Korea filled their export quotas to the United States, the European Union, and Japan, Clothing manufactures in these countries began searching for new areas with low wages in which to locate factories. Consequently, many foreign companies opened factories in Bangladesh. Within this new millennium , significant changes will reshape world trade , the changing environment , new sophisticated technologies , new products, new services & diverse customer needs will accelerate the pace of growth in trade & industry .Efficient & consistent satisfactions of market requirements within world standard, technical sound & the increasing demands & performances of customer, as well as the necessary to produce value added goods with a high design content are of paramount importance to any industry to sustain its progress & meet universal competition .This is particular true in the textile & clothing Industry. The Apparel management is one of creative direction; working within teams to develop appropriate, innovative, commercially viable clothing for today is fast changing world markets. Due to the global nature of the Industries involved clothes made in Bangladesh from textiles sourced from China; Australia & Europe are subsequently exported all over the world. This system requires a Effective management to be informed on a wide range of issues such as global commerce, market forces, information cultural awareness & state of the ART technology. Job opportunities range from research and development of textile products, product design and development, buying sourcing, and manufacturing to merchandising, marketing, branding, and promotion of retail products and services. The marketplace is often highly competitive, requiring individuals to find ways to markets themselves better. The exponential growth of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing sectors now necessities the country to become Vertical & further growth in backward linkage as well as product development in the Woven & Knit sector is essential to complete with China & India. So the impact of new market expansion is absolutely crucial top sustained growth & future expansion of the garment industry though a well planning. To stay in business, each firm must grow and make a profit Apparel industry grow through Branding, vertical and horizontal integration, and conglomerate mergers.

Objective
The goal of the project is to ensure adherence to (internationally accepted) social and environmental standards. The impact envisaged is an overall improvement of the lives of the RMG workers through improved workers-employers relationships and increased awareness of workers rights,

Methodology
Focused Group Discussions and depth-interviews have been conducted with Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), BGMEA and BKMEA to obtain their perspectives on the situation in the clothing sector.

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Scope The scope of this research is limited. Attempts have not been made to elaborate on the suffering and plight of the workers

Limitations
Companies did not want to share information with me. Electricity problem. Internet problem.

What is Social Compliance

Social compliance is a burning issue in the challenging world market. Prominent buyers from developed countries are increasingly emphasizing on compliance standard as their consumers are much more concern about this issue. As a custodian of the sector, BKMEA is aware of its responsibility and putting incessant efforts to make the members competitive and uphold the image of Bangladesh RMG sector. Compliance assures that proper criminal, administrative, and civil sanctions are carried out against violators of food inspection laws. These violations include the sale of uninspected meat, the use of inaccurate labels, and the contamination of products.

GLOBAL COMPLENCE STANDARDS ARE

STANDARDS OF SOCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY 8000(SA8000) WRAP PRINCIPLES. FLA CODE OF CONDUCT OHSAS 18001 PRINCIPLES. COMPLIANCE STANDARDS OF THE BUYERS.

The setting of international labor standards, where international labor standards come from, is a unique legislative process involving governments, as well a employers & workers representatives from around the world. The ILO s mechanisms for international supervision of international labor standards are an acknowledged role model for their effectiveness & efficiency. The results over the years are thousands of documented cases of improvement in situations involving matters ranging from infringements of basic civil rights principles to everyday conditions of work.

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International labor standards are agreed under democratic principles by representatives of government, workers & employers of all the social & economic systems of the world .They are the global model for workplace rights & responsibilities .A such, it is the mission of the ILO is to promote their realization. But For Bangladesh these awareness came as a law. Like THE FACTORY ACT, 1965 Health & Safety. Safety. Welfare. Working hours for adults. Employment of young workers. Leave & holidays with wages. Penalties & procedure.

The Employment of Labor [Standing] act, 1965] . The Employment [Record of Services] Rules: 1957]. The Payment of Wages Act: 1936. The minimum wages Ordinance, 1961. The worker compensation Act, 1923. The Maternity Benefit Act, 1939.

The Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969.

Social compliance for Bangladesh

Social compliance is a burning issue in the challenging world market. Prominent buyers from developed countries are increasingly emphasizing on compliance standard as their consumers are much more concern about this issue. As a custodian of the sector, BKMEA is aware of its responsibility and putting incessant efforts to make the members competitive and uphold the image of Bangladesh RMG sector.

Social Compliance: Ongoing Initiatives of BKMEA

Social compliance is a legal requirement that takes into account minimum labor standards, occupational safety measures and environmental concern. To run a factory in Bangladesh, the entrepreneur is obliged to comply with the National Labor Law and if any additional requirement from buyer. BKMEA, from its own commitment towards the sector, has taken rigorous programs for ensuring a fully complaint knitwear industry. Key initiatives of the association are as follows: Pre-requisite to obtain membership in BKMEA: Before giving the membership to any applied factory, investigation is done to check the mentioned requirements and no membership is issued until the factory fulfills these basic prerequisites: No Child Labor Factories must have alternate stairs, basic fire equipments.

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Approved layout plan from concerned authority for ensuring safe building construction. Mandatory Group Insurance for all workers and employees in each factory. Hygienic sanitation facility and first aid appliance. Declaration of ensuring minimum wages.

Arbitration Committee: There is a conciliation cum arbitration bi-lateral committee in BKMEA to deal with individual grievances.The committee tries to solve the disputes that arise between the owner and the employees of the factory before referring the matter to court which is time consuming and costly. No financial expenses from the owners or from the workers are involved. Social Compliance Monitoring Program: To enhance the compliance status of the whole industry, BKMEA with the support of GTZ, is implementing a Social Compliance Monitoring Program since 2007. Twenty members competent monitoring cell of BKMEA are working at factory level to check the labor welfare and safety issues regularly. The project has included the following activities: formation of a skilled monitoring team, development of a detail check list including 89 compliance related questions and grading system (A, B, C, D) based on National Labor Law, unannounced visits to factories, provide Corrective Action Plan (CAP) and follow up visits to check the progress, comprehensive software for storing field data and systematic evaluation of factories. BKMEA takes crash programs for degraded factories for providing special guidance and in extreme case imposing penalty measures. Besides, the compliance cell is organizing trainings for mid level management and factory based training for workers to enhance their skill, knowledge and awareness. Fire Safety' and Labor Cell are the two specialized wings of BKMEA which are working intently for conducting regular fire drill at factory floors and handle individual grievances of workers respectively. The project runs with the following objectives: 1. To increase awareness of compliance issues among all member factories 2. To monitor the basic rights of workers and guide the factories to overcome their loopholes. 3. To make the factories capable of maintaining social compliance standards by their own efforts by improving their skills through rigorous training/workshops. 4. To implement activities from corporate social responsibility (CSR) and encourage member factories accordingly. Skill Development Programs: Mid Level Management Training: Dearth of skilled management is one of the major barriers of developing compliant RMG industry in Bangladesh. To develop true professionalism in factory management, BKMEA is arranging series of training programs for mid level management of factories. The training has started from 10 November 2007. Three training manuals for mid level officers have been published already which are being distributed to the factory people as a ready reference for their day to day work under this to provide a complete reference to the factory management which is being distributed at free of cost during the training sessions. The core contents of Mid Level Management Training -1,2 and 3 are: child labor, appointment letter, ID card, wages, overtime & maternity benefit calculation, salary sheet, using of PPES, fire safety, leave, personal file, disciplinary procedure, service book, health and safety, register maintenance , roles and responsibilities of welfare officer, condition of appointment, workers classification, grievance handling procedure, health and safety issues, welfare facilities, industrial

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relations, ILO codes, offence & its penalty etc. By May 2010, BKMEA has trained about 2000 mid level officers of member factories under this program. The objective of the initiative is to develop at least one competent compliance officer in each factory which will support the factory for maintaining compliance necessities by own effort. Service Book Implementation: Service book is long driven demand of Bangladesh RMG sector and BKMEA assures full support towards this. Proper implementation of service book will help for reducing of workers migration, availability of workers job related record and ensure workers right etc. As per Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, implementation of service book is mandatory for all factories. BKMEA has started distribution of service books to all members since September 2008. Prior to that, the association has arranged series of orientation programs for Narayanganj, Dhaka and Chittagong factories to disseminate information on using and urgency of service book. Mandatory Group Insurance: BKMEA has made Group Insurance Mandatory for all of its member units. An agreement has been signed with a govt. life insurance company in this regard. New membership and renewal of old membership are not issued until the applicant complies with the rule. Under the agreement, each member unit has to pay premium of Tk 8,000.00 per annum eligible to have insurance claim of maximum 20 persons. Member factories are getting the insurance claim for its workers/employees for accidental or normal death and permanent disability. BKMEA is very careful to pay the insurance claim to the representatives of worker regularly. Capacity Enhancement Training for Compliance Cell: Compliance is an issue of regular up gradation as per global requirement. BKMEAs ongoing initiatives are not limited with implementation of labor law but also strengthening the capacity of the association and the industry. So BKMEA is arranging regular trainings for its social compliance officers to enhance their skill and updating their knowledge with the global demand. Some of the recent trainings arranged for the cell are: WRAP, SA 8000, ToT on C-TPAT, advanced OHS, Trade Union and Participation Committee. The cell disseminates this knowledge within industry people through regular workshops and trainings which supports a balanced development of the entire industry. Awareness Raising Programs: Publication Materials: To disseminate information on core compliance issues, BKMEA has published a complete guidebook on social and environmental compliance along with structural safety, a handbook on labor law, three training manuals for mid level management, one training manual for workers, a number of posters and stickers. All these materials are in local language and have been distributed already to the member factories at free of cost. Processing for further publication is going on. TV Advertisement: BKMEA has developed a series of TV commercials on the following key compliance issues: minimum wage and on time payment, owner-worker relationship, personal protective equipment (PPEs). These are being aired in the prominent TV channels of Bangladesh to raise mass awareness on workers rights.

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Documentary: A fastidious documentary has been made by the association including all the ongoing compliance activities for dissemination within national and international stakeholders. It has included the regular monitoring, skill development program, workers festival, charity program and other significant activities. The documentary has been distributed to all key stakeholders. Experience Sharing Session with Factory Owners: Development of a Compliant Factory is largely dependent on the intention and capability of an owner. To motivate owners and provide them updated information on world compliance scenario, BKMEA is regularly arranging experience sharing sessions with factory owners dividing total industrial areas into particular zones Pioneer owners in RMG business are being invited in these sessions to encourage other entrepreneurs from his/ her practical experience. Observance of historical May Day : BKMEA, the one and only trade body with its tradition has observed historic May Day on 2nd May, 2010 like last years The occasion was accompanied with various ingenious programs like: discussion session on worker-owner relationship, awarding of 10 best labor friendly knitwear factories of 2010, unwrapping of anniversary issue of workers news letter-the Shromobarta, handing over of group insurance cheque to demised workers family members and a gala cultural program by first-rated performance solely by the workers. BKMEA will arrange the program in next years also as the association believes that, May Day is not only for workers, but also for owners to bridge the ownerworker relation in a new dimension. SHROMOBARTA-Special Newsletter for Workers: The Shromobartra, is another pioneering endeavor of BKMEA to bring out the cultural intelligence of working class. For the first time in Bangladesh, BKMEA has published this quarterly magazine solely for the RMG workers of the country. The newsletter contains writings from the workers of BKMEA member factories. This quarterly newsletter is a symbol of strong voice of our disciplined and dedicated work force. Community Health Care Centre for the Workers: BKMEA is running a hospital for workers at BSCIC, Narayanganj where about 200 factories are clustered in a single periphery. The hospital is being run from the own resource of BKMEA where workers can get free outdoor treatment and medicine under intensive care of female doctors. Centralized Day Care Centre: BKMEA is working with Metro Group, one of the largest apparel buyers of Germany for establishing a Central Day Care Centre in BSCIC, Narayanganj which is the largest RMG cluster of Bangladesh. The agreement signing between BKMEA and Metro Group was held on 26 April, 2010. Mr. Muhammad Faruk Khan, honorable minister for commerce; H.E. Holger Michael, Ambassador, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany; Mr. Fazlul Hoque, President, BKMEA; Mr. Anton Knijf, Vice President, Metro Group, other leaders and entrepreneurs from BKMEA; media and Govt. guests were present in the agreement signing ceremony. Primarily, 60 children will be accommodated in the day care centre with nutritious food and all standard facilities for rearing children with proper physical and mental care. Workers will get this facility at free of cost. Gradually, depending on its

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success, number of children will be increased in the day care centre and some more centers will be established in other clusters of RMG. Food Rationing for Workers: The price of rice is a key issue in impoverished Bangladesh, where households are estimated to spend nearly 70 percent of their income on food (AFP, 2008). In Bangladesh, two-thirds of food item of general people contains rice, so inflation in rice price creates acute problem specially for the working class. Conceiving this idea, BKMEA has started to distribute rice at a subsidized price from 2007 which is first from the history of trade body in Bangladesh. In first quarter of 2008, when rice price had gone up to sixty cents a kilogram in retail markets and other food prices became more than doubled, BKMEA distributed rice and other daily essentials at a very subsidized rate to the workers to face this hidden hunger phase, Again, during the holy Ramadan of 2007, 2008 and 2009, BKMEA supported the workers by subsidized food items. Presently BKMEA is continuing this rice distribution program almost in yearly arrangement through the member factories with Govt. support. BKMEA support during Natural Disasters: During the devastating flood of 2007 and 2008, BKMEA arranged extensive relief works for the effected workers and in flood vulnerable districts. Again, after the destructing cyclone (SIDR) of 2007, BKMEA rushed towards the effected areas with emergency supports and food materials. Besides, in each catastrophe, BKMEA donates bulk amount in Govt. fund for supporting the restoration works. Workers Scholarship: BKMEA has taken an initiative to reward the good academic performance of workers or close relative of workers in secondary school and college level examination. An official circular has been issued for collecting application from workers of member factories with A+ or A grade result. Response from workers is praiseworthy and top grade holders have already awarded in a formal program. Government Bodies: BKMEA is actively participating the meetings and following activities with National Social Compliance Forum under Commerce Ministry (MoC) and Taskforce on labor Welfare and Crisis Management in RMG sector under labor Ministry (MoL) of Bangladesh Government. IAF: BKMEA is working with International Apparel Federation (IAF), the largest apparel trade body in the world international for sharing and networking of knowledge on workers welfare and other sector related issues. Mr. Fazlul Hoque, President, BKMEA is the board member of IAF. BKMEA delegation lead by the President Mr. Fazlul Hoque participated in the half yearly meeting of IAF Global Responsibility Committee (GR) on 21st April 2009 in Cologne, Germany where he presented the latest development of Bangladesh apparel sector on compliance aspect with the international stakeholders. ILO: BKMEA participated in the Multi Forum 07 of ILO held in Geneva, Switzerland conference on 1516 November 2007. The conference was on Better Business: Managing Labor Relations for Productivity and Growth where BKMEA President, Mr. Fazlul Hoque was the only participant from Bangladesh RMG sector. Participants from different countries, United Nations, Universities and

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Labor Ministries of Different countries joined the conference. BKMEA has also close relationship with the local office of ILO in Bangladesh. MFB: The International Multi Fiber Agreement (MFA) has facilitated the establishment of a Bangladesh Working Group (MFB) to work with all the stakeholders, i.e. Government, Association, Buyers, Labor Unions and Civil Society. MFB is identifying the core areas and develop the scope for a three year project to increase the social compliance and competitiveness of the RMG sector of Bangladesh. BKMEA is working closely with MFB for strengthening the capacity of Bangladesh apparel sector. BKMEA-Save the Children CSR initiative: BKMEA has worked with the Save the Children (Sweden-Denmark) on a joint initiative titled Corporate Social Responsibility & Child Labor. To make acquainted all the stakeholders with this approach, a conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark on 12 December, 2006. The conference was on Responsible Approaches to Child Labor in Textile and Garments Production Walking Together for a Win-Win Situation. Mr. Md. Fazlul Hoque, President, BKMEA participated the conference and presented a paper on Corporate Social Responsibility to Workers in the Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Units in Bangladesh. Renowned buyers like H&M, MFA Forum, Amnesty International and different international organizations participated in the conference. The Copenhagen conference was a follow-up of the awareness raising seminar on Corporate Social Responsibility & Child Labor organized in Dhaka on September 16, 2006. It was jointly by Save the Children (Sweden-Denmark), BKMEA and Danish Federation of Small and Medium Sized Enterprise. The awareness raising seminar was participated by H.E. Mr. Einar Hebogard Jenson, Ambassador, Royal Danish Embassy and H. E. Ms. Britt Falkman Hagstrom, Ambassador, Swedish Embassy in Bangladesh, Mr. Olof Risberg, media, Govt. representative, factory owners and others.

BANGLADESH THE EMPLOYMENT OF LABOR (STANDING ORDERS) ACT, 1965

An Act to repeal and with certain amendments, re-enact the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1960. WHEREAS it is expedient to repeal and, with certain amendments, re-enact the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1960 (Ordinance No. III of 1960) for regulating conditions of service of workers employed in Shops and Commercial and Industrial Establishments and for matters connected therein; It is hereby enacted as follows: 1 . Short title, extent, commencement and application. (1) This Act may be called the Employment of Labor (Standing Orders) Act, 1965. (2) It extends to the whole of Bangladesh. (3) It shall come into force at once. (4) It shall apply to -

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(a) every shop or commercial establishment to which the Shops and Establishments Act, 1965 applies; (b) every industrial establishment in the areas in which the Shops and Establishments Act, 1965 applies; (c) every industrial establishment in all other areas of Bangladesh, in which five or more workers are employed or were employed on any day of the preceding twelve months:

Provided that the provisions of this Act shall not apply to any shop or commercial or industrial establishment, owned and directly managed by the Government and the persons employed therein are governed by the Government Servants Conduct Rules. 2. Definition In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context

(a) 'apprentice' means a learner who is paid an allowance during the period of his training. (b) 'badli' means a worker who is appointed in the post of a permanent worker or of a probationer who is temporarily absent; (c) 'casual worker' means a worker whose employment is of a casual nature; (d) 'commercial establishment' means an establishment in which the business of advertising, commission or forwarding is conducted, or which is a commercial agency, and includes a clerical department of a factory or of any industrial or commercial undertaking, the office establishment of a person who for the purpose of fulfilling a contract with the owner of any commercial establishment or industrial establishment employs workers, a unit of a joint-stock company, an insurance company, a banking company or a bank, a broker's office or stock exchange, a club, a hotel or a restaurant or an eating house, cinema or theatre, or such other establishment or class thereof as the Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare to be a commercial establishment for the purpose of this Act; (e) 'Director of Labor' means an officer so appointed by the Government; (f) 'Discharge' means the termination of services of a worker by the employer for reasons of physical or mental incapacity or continued ill health of the worker or such other similar reasons not amounting to misconduct; (g) 'dismissal' means the termination of services of a worker by the employer for misconduct; (h) 'employer' means a person, a body of persons or body corporate, company or institutions owning or managing a shop, commercial establishment or industrial establishment, or their heirs, successors or assigns, as the case may be, and includes; o i) in a factory, any person working as manager of the factory, o ii) in any shop, commercial establishment or industrial establishment, carried on by or behalf on a local authority, the officer appointed, the chief executive officer of that authority, and o iii) in relation to any other shop, commercial establishment or industrial establishment, every Director, Manager, Secretary, Agent or other officer or person concerned with management thereof and responsible to the owner for the supervision and control of such shop, commercial establishment or industrial establishment; (i) 'go-slow' means an organised deliberate and purposeful slowing down of normal output of work by a body of workers in a concerted manner, and which is not due to any mechanical defect, breakdown of machinery, failure or defect in power supply or in the supply of normal materials and spare parts of machinery. (j) 'industrial establishment' means any workshop or other establishment in which articles are produced, adapted or manufactured or where the work of making, altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing or packing or otherwise treating any article or substance, with a view to their use, transport, sale, delivery or disposal, is carried on or such other class of establishments including water transport vessels or any class thereof which the Government

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may, by notification in the official Gazette, declare to be an industrial establishment for the purpose of this Act, and includes o i) any motor omnibus service, any dock, wharf or jetty. o ii) any mine, quarry, gas-field or oil-field, o iii) any plantation, or o iv) a factory as defined in the Factories Act, 1965; (k) 'Labor Court' means a Court constituted under the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969. (l) 'lay-off= means the failure, refusal or inability of an employer on account of shortage of coal, power or raw material or the accumulation of stock or the break-down of machinery or for any other reason, to give employment to a worker whose name is borne on the muster rolls of his shop, commercial establishment or industrial establishment; (m) 'permanent worker' means a worker who has been engaged on a permanent basis or who has satisfactorily completed the period of his probation in the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment; (n) 'plantation' means any estate which is maintained for the purpose of growing cinchona, rubber, coffee or tea and includes agricultural farms under sugar mill for growing sugar cane, employing twenty-five or more persons for that purpose; (o) 'public servant' shall have the same meaning as in section 21 of the Penal Code, 1860; (p) 'probationer' means a worker who is provisionally employed to fill a permanent vacancy in a post and has not completed the period of his probation; (q) 'retrenchment' means the termination by the employer of services of workers, not as a measure of punishment inflicted by way of disciplinary action, but on the ground of redundancy; (r) 'shop' means a shop as defined in the Shops and Establishments Act, 1965; (s) 'temporary worker' means a worker who has been engaged for work which is essentially of temporary nature and is likely to be finished within a limited period; (t) 'trade union' means a trade union registered under the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969; (u) 'wage' means wages as defined in the payment of wages Act, 1936; (v) 'worker' means any person including any apprentice employed in any shop, commercial establishment or industrial establishment to do any skilled, unskilled, manual, technical, trade promotional or clerical work for hire or reward, whether the terms of employment be expressed or implied, but does not include any such person o i) who is employed mainly in a managerial or administrative capacity; or o ii) who, being employed in a supervisory capacity, exercises, either by nature of the duties attached to office or by reason of power vested in him, functions mainly of managerial or administrative nature.

3. Conditions of employment (1) In every shop or commercial or industrial establishment, employment of workers and other matters incidental thereto shall be regulated in accordance with the provisions of this Act: Provided that any shop or commercial or industrial establishment may have its own rules regulating employment of workers or any class thereof, but no such rules shall be less favourable to any worker than the provisions of this Act. (2) The service rules regulating employment of workers or any class thereof in any shop or commercial or industrial establishment as mentioned in the proviso to sub-section (1) shall be submitted by the employer or such shop or commercial or industrial establishment to the Inspector appointed under section 30 for approval and such service rules shall not be put into effect until such approval of the Inspector has been obtained.

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(3) Any person aggrieved by the order of the Inspector may within thirty days of the issue of such order, appeal to the Chief Inspector who may either confirm, modify or set aside the order of the Inspector. (4) A second appeal from the order of the Chief Inspector shall lie to the Government if made within thirty days of the issue of the order of the Chief Inspector and the decision of the Government shall be final. 4. Classification of workers and period of probation. (1) A worker employed in any shop or commercial or industrial establishment shall be classified in any of the following classes according to the nature and conditions of work and in the manner provided in this Act

(a) apprentices. (b) badlis. (c) casual. (d) permanent. (e) probationer, and (f) temporary.

(2) The period of probation for a worker whose function is of clerical nature, shall be six months and for other workers such period shall be three months, including breaks due to leave, illegal lock-out or strike (not being an illegal strike) in the shop or commercial or industrial establishment: Provided that in the case of a skilled worker, the period of probation may be extended by an additional period of three months if, for any circumstances, it has not been possible to determine the quality of his work within three months' period of his probation. (3) If any worker, whose service has been terminated during his probationary period, including the extended period of three months in case of a skilled worker as mentioned in sub-section (2), is again appointed by the same employer within a period of three years, he shall, unless appointed on a permanent basis, be deemed to be a probationer and the period or periods of his earlier probation shall be counted for determining his total period of probation. (4) If a permanent worker is employed as a probationer in a new post, he may, at any time during the probationary period, be reverted to his old permanent post. 5. Leave and holidays. (1) Workers employed in shops or commercial or industrial establishments shall be entitled to leave and holidays with wages as provided in the East Bengal Shops and Establishments Act, 1951, the Factories Act, 1965, or in any other law for the time being in force, as the case may be, and other holidays which the Government may specially declare to be holidays for workers by notification in the official Gazette. (2) A worker who desires to obtain leave of absence shall apply to the employer for the same, in writing, stating his leave address therein, and the employer or his authorised officer shall issue orders on the application within a weak of its submission to two days prior to the commencement of leave applied for, whichever is earlier: Provided that if, due to emergent reasons, the leave applied for is to commence on the date of application or within three days thereof, the order shall be given on the same day. If the leave asked

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for is granted, a leave pass shall be issued to the worker. If the leave is refused or postponed, the fact of such refusal or postponement and the reasons thereof shall be recorded in writing in a register to be maintained by the employer for the purpose. If the worker after proceeding on leave, desires an extension thereof, he shall, if such leave is due to him, apply sufficiently in advance before the expiry of the leave to the employer who shall as far as practicable, send a written reply either granting or refusing extension of leave to the worker to his leave address. (3) If the worker remains absent beyond the period of leave originally granted or subsequently extended, he shall be liable to lose his lien to his appointment unless he returns within ten days of the expiry of his leave and explains to the satisfaction of the employer his inability to return earlier: Provided that in case any worker loses his lien to his appointment under this section, he shall not be deprived of the benefits and privileges which already accrued to him under the law due to his past services and in addition, he shall also be kept on the badli list, if any: Provided further that if such a worker fails to explain to the satisfaction of the employer the reason of his failure to return at the expiry of the leave, the employer may, on consideration of extenuating circumstances, if any, suspend him, as a measure of punishment, for a period not exceeding seven days from the date of his return and the worker shall not be entitled to wages for such periods of unauthorised absence and of suspension; but he shall not lose the lien to his appointment. (4) If the services of a worker, to whom any annual leave is due under the provisions of the Shops and Establishments Act, 1965, the Factories Act, 1965, or of any other law for the time being in force, as the case may be, is dispensed with whether as a result of retrenchment, discharge, dismissal, termination, retirement or by reason of his resignation before he has availed of any such leave, the employer shall pay his wages in lieu of the unavailed leave, at the rate he is entitled to the payment of wages during the period of leave in accordance with the provisions of those laws and such payments shall be made before the expiry of the second working day after the day on which his employment is dispensed with. 6. Stoppage of work. (1) The employer may, at any time, in the event of fire, catastrophe, breakdown of machinery, or stoppage of power supply, epidemics, civil commotion or other cause beyond his control, stop any section or sections of the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment, wholly or partly, for any period. (2) In the event of such stoppage occurring at any time beyond working hours, the employer shall notify the workers affected, by notices posted, in the case of a factory, on the notice board in the section or department concerned and, in other cases, at a conspicuous place before the work is due to begin next, indicating as to when the work will be resumed and whether such workers are to remain at their place of work at any time before the actual resumption. (3) In the event of such stoppage occurring at any time during working hours, the workers affected shall be notified as soon as practicable, by notices posted, in the case of a factory on the notice board in the section or department concerned, and in other cases, at a conspicuous place, indicating as to when the work will be resumed and whether such workers are to leave or remain at their place of work. (4) In the case of detention of workers following such stoppage

(a) the workers so detained may not be paid for the period of such detention if it does not exceed one hour;

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(b) the workers so detained shall be paid wages for the whole period of such detention if it exceeds one hour.

(5) If the period of stoppage of work does not exceed one working day, a worker, unless entitled to wages under clause ((b) of sub-section (4) for detention beyond one hour, may not be paid any wages; but if the period of stoppage of work continues for more than a working day, a worker affected (other than a casual or badli worker), shall be paid wages for the day or days by which it will exceed one working day, and if the stoppage of work extends beyond three working days, the workers may be laid-off in accordance with the provisions of section 9 and such lay-off shall be effective from the day of stoppage of work and any wage paid to a worker for the first three days may be adjusted against the compensation payable for such subsequent lay-off: Provided that for the piece-rate workers affected, their average daily earnings in the previous month shall be taken to be the daily wage for the purposes of the foregoing sub-sections. (6) The employer may, in the event of a strike by any section or department of a shop or commercial or industrial establishment, close down either wholly or partly such section or department or any other section or department affected by such closing down and the workers affected may not be paid any wages for such closure: Provided that the fact of such closure shall be notified by the employer, as soon as practicable, by notice posted, in the case of a factory, on the notice board in the section or department concerned and in the time-keeper's offices, if any, and in any other case in a conspicuous place and the fact of resumption of work, following such closure shall likewise be notified. 7. Calculation of 'one year' or 'six months' of continuous service. For the purpose of this Act, a worker who, during the preceding twelve calendar months, has actually worked in a shop or commercial or industrial establishment for not less than two hundred and forty days and one hundred and forty days, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have completed 'one year' or 'six months' respectively, of continuous service in the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment. Explanations.- In computing the number of days on which a worker, actually worked in a shop or commercial or industrial establishment the days on which

(a) he has been laid-off under an agreement or as permitted under this Act or under any other law applicable to the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment the total number of days' during which he has been so laid off; (b) he has been on leave with or without wages due to sickness or accident; (c) in the case of a female, she has been on maternity leave not exceeding twelve weeks shall be counted.

8. Restrictions of applications of section 6, 9, 10 and 11Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act

(a) the provisions of sections 6, 9, 10 and 11 shall not apply to any shop, commercial or industrial establishment in which five or more workers are not employed, or were not employed on any day of the proceeding twelve months. (b) the provisions of section 9 to 11, both inclusive shall not apply to a shop, commercial or industrial establishment which is of seasonal character or in which work is performed only intermittently, irrespective of the number of workers employed therein;

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Provided that if a question arises whether a shop or commercial or industrial establishment is of seasonal character or whether work is performed therein intermittently, the decision of the Government shall be final: Provided further that it will not be necessary for an employer to follow the provisions of sections 9 to 11, in respect of any lay-off due to stoppage of work extending beyond three days as provided in subsection (5) of section 6, in a shop, commercial or industrial establishment to which clause ((b) of this section applies. 9. Right of laid-off workers for compensation. (1) Whenever a worker (other than a badli or casual worker), whose name is borne on the muster-rolls of a shop or commercial or industrial establishment and who has completed not less than one year of continuous service under the employer is laid-off, he shall be paid by the employer, for all days during which he is so laid off, except for such weekly holidays as may intervene, compensation which shall be equal to half of the total of the basic wages and dearness allowance, and the full amount of housing allowance, if any, that would have been payable to him had he not been so laid-off: Provided that a badli worker whose name is borne on the muster-rolls of the shop or commercial or industrial establishment shall cease to be regarded as such for the purpose of this section, if he has completed one year of continuous service in the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment: Provided further that no worker shall, unless there is an agreement to the contrary between him and the employer, be entitled to the payment of compensation in the aforesaid manner for more than fortyfive days during any calendar year. (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the proviso to sub-section (1) if during a calendar year a worker is laid-off for more than forty-five days whether continuously or intermittently, and the lay-off after the expiry of the first forty-five days comprises period or periods of fifteen days or more, the worker shall, unless there is an agreement to the contrary between him and the employer, be paid for all the days comprised in every subsequent period of lay-off for fifteen days or more, compensation which shall be equal to one forth of the total of the basic wages and dearness allowance, and the full amount of housing allowance if any that would have been payable to him had he not been so laid off. (3) In any case where, during a calendar year, a worker is to be laid off after the first forty-five days as aforesaid, for any continuous period of fifteen days or more, the employer may, instead of laying off such a worker, retrench him under section 12. 10. Muster-roll for laid off workers. Notwithstanding that the workers or any section thereof employed in a shop or commercial or industrial establishment have been laid off, it shall be the duty of every employer to maintain a muster-roll, and to provide for the making of entries therein by or for the laid-off workers who may present themselves for work at the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment at the appointed time during normal working hours. 11. Workers not entitled to compensation in certain cases. Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, no compensation shall be payable to a worker who has been laid off;

(a) if he refuses to accept, on the same wages, any alternative employment not requiring any special skill or previous experience, in the same shop or the commercial or industrial

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establishment from which he has been laid off, or in any other shop or commercial or industrial establishment belonging to the same employer and situated in the same town or villa or situated within a radius of five miles from the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment; (b) if he does not present himself for work at the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment at the appointed time during normal working hours at least once a day if so required by the employer; or (c) if such lay-off is due to a strike in another part of the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment.

Explanation. For the purpose of clause (b) , every laid-off worker who presents himself for work at the shop or the commercial or industrial establishment, as the case may be, at the time appointed for the purpose during normal working hours on any day and is not given employment by the employer within two hours of his so presenting himself shall be deemed to have been laid off for that day within the meaning of this section; and if the worker instead of being given employment at the commencement of any shift for any day, is asked to present himself for the purpose during the second half of the shift for the day, and if he so presents himself, he shall be deemed to have been laid off only for one-half of that day, the other half being treated as on duty, irrespective of the fact whether he is given work or not. 12. Conditions of retrenchment No worker employed in any shop or commercial or industrial establishment who has been in continuous service for not less than one year under an employer shall be retrenched by the employer unless

(a) the worker has been given one month's notice in writing, indicating the reasons for retrenchment or the worker has been paid in lieu of such notice, wages for the period of notice; (b) a copy of the notice in respect of the retrenchment is sent to the Chief Inspector or any other officer authorised by him; and (c) the worker has been paid, at the time of retrenchment, compensation which shall be equivalent to thirty days wages for every completed year of service or for any part thereof in excess of six months, or gratuity, if any, whichever is higher:

Provided that in case of retrenchment of a worker under subsection (3) of section 9, no notice as mentioned in clause ((a) will be necessary, but the worker shall be paid fifteen days' wages in addition to the compensation or gratuity, as the case may be, which may be payable to him under clause (c). Explanation. For the purpose of calculation of compensation under this section, wage shall mean the average of the basic wages plus dearness allowance, if any, paid to the worker during the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of retrenchment. 13. Procedure for retrenchment. Where any worker is to be retrenched and he belongs to a particular category of workers, the employer shall, in the absence of any agreement between him and the worker in this behalf, ordinarily retrench the worker who was the last person to be employed in that category, unless, for reasons to be recorded in writing, the employer retrenches any other worker. 14. Re-employment of retrenched workers. Where any number of workers are retrenched, and the employer proposes to take into his employ any person within a period of one year from the date of such retrenchment, he shall give an opportunity to

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the retrenched workers belonging to the particular category concerned by sending a notice to their last known addresses, to offer themselves for employment and the retrenched workers who so offer themselves for re-employment shall have preference over other persons, each having priority according to the length of his service under the employer. 15. Fine.A worker may be fined in accordance with the provisions of the Payment of Wages Act, 1936. 16. Discharge from service. A worker may be discharged from service for reasons of physical or mental incapacity or continued ill-health or such other reasons not amounting to misconduct: Provided that a worker having completed not less than one year of continuous service, so discharged, shall be paid by the employer compensation at the rate of thirty days wages for every completed year of service or for any part thereof in excess of six months, or gratuity, if any, whichever is higher. Explanation. For the purpose of calculation of wages under this section, wages shall mean the average of the basic wages and dearness allowance, if any, paid to the worker during the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of discharge. 17. Dismissal from service. Notwithstanding anything regarding lay-off, retrenchment, discharge and termination of service as provided elsewhere in this Act, a worker may

(a) be dismissed without prior notice or pay in lieu thereof or any compensation if he is convicted for an offence; or (b) be dismissed without prior notice or pay in lieu thereof if he is found guilty of misconduct under section 18:

Provided that the worker who is so dismissed shall, if his continuous service is not less than one year, be paid by the employer compensation at the rate of fourteen days wages for every completed year of service, or for any part thereof in excess of six months or gratuity, if any, whichever is higher. Explanation. For the purpose of calculation of compensation under this sub-section, 'wages' shall mean the average of basic wages and dearness allowance, if any, paid to the worker during the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of his dismissal. (2) Any-worker found guilty of misconduct but not dismissed under the provisions of sub-section (1) in consideration of any extenuating circumstances, may be discharged, or suspended, as a measure of punishment, without wages as well as subsistence allowance, for a period not exceeding seven days and such period may be within or in addition to the period of suspension of the worker for enquiry under sub-section (2) of section 18, if any, or he may be otherwise punished less severely. (3) The following acts and omissions shall be treated as misconduct

(a) wilful insubordination or disobedience, whether alone or in combination with others, to any lawful or reasonable order of a superior; (b) theft, fraud or dishonesty in connection with the employer's business or property; (c) taking or giving bribes or any illegal gratification in connection with his or any other worker's employment under the employer;

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(d) habitual absence without leave or absence without leave for more than ten days; (e) habitual late attendance; (f) habitual breach of any law or rule or regulation applicable to the shop or commercial or industrial establishment; (g) riotous or disorderly behaviour in the shop or commercial or industrial establishment, or any act subversive of discipline; (h) habitual negligence or neglect of work; (i) frequent repetition of any act or omission for which a fine may be imposed; (j) resorting to illegal strike or 'go-slow' or inciting others to resort to illegal strike or 'goslow'; (k) falsifying, tampering with, damaging or causing loss of employer's official records.

18. Procedure of punishment.(1) No order for discharge or dismissal of a worker shall be made unless

(a) the allegations against him are recorded in writing; (b) he is given a copy thereof and not less than three days' time to explain; (c) he is given a personal hearing if such a prayer is made; and (d) the employer or the manager approves of such order.

(2) A worker charged for misconduct may be suspended pending enquiry into the charges against him and unless the matter is pending before any court, the period of such suspension shall not exceed sixty days: Provided that during the period of such suspension, a worker shall be paid by his employer a subsistence allowance equivalent to half of his average including dearness allowance, if any. (3) An order of suspension shall be in writing and may take effect immediately on delivery to the worker. (4)

(a) If, on enquiry, a worker is found guilty of any of the charges alleged and is punished under sub-section (1) of section 17, he shall not be entitled to his wages for any period of suspension for enquiry but shall be entitled to the subsistence allowance under the proviso to sub-section (2). (b) If the worker is found not guilty, he shall be deemed to have been on duty for the period of suspension for enquiry, if any, and shall be entitled to his wages for such period of suspension and the subsistence allowance shall be adjusted accordingly. (c) In cases of punishment, a copy of the order inflicting such punishment shall be supplied to the worker concerned.

(5) if a worker refuses to accept any notice, letter, charge sheet, order or any other document addressed to him by the employer, it shall be deemed that such notice, letter, charge sheet, order or the document has been delivered to him if a copy of the same has been exhibited on the notice board and another copy has been sent to the address of the worker as available from the records of the employer, by registered post. (6) In awarding punishment under this Act the employer shall take into account the gravity of the misconduct, the previous record, if any, of the worker and any other extenuating or aggravating circumstances that may exist.

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(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing sub-sections or elsewhere in this Act, an employer, in cases of 'go-slow' or illegal strike, may discharge or dismiss one or more workers or inflict such other punishment on him or them, individually or collectively, by notice posted on the notice board, after obtaining permission from the Labor Court. 19. Termination of employment. (1) For terminating the employment of a permanent worker by the employer, otherwise than in the manner provided elsewhere in this Act, One hundred twenty-days' notice in the case of monthly rated workers and sixty days notice in the case of other workers, in writing, shall be given by the employer: Provided that wages for 120 days or sixty days, as the case may be, may be paid in lieu of such notice: Provided further that the worker whose employment is so terminated, shall be paid by the employer compensation at the rate thirty days' wages for every completed year of service or for any part thereof in excess of six months, in addition to any other benefit to which he may be entitled under this Act or any other law for the time being in force. Explanation - For the purpose of calculation of wages under this sub-section, wages shall mean the average of the basic wages and dearness allowance, if any, paid to the worker during the period of twelve months immediately preceding the date of termination. (2) If a permanent worker desires to terminate his employment, one month's notice in the case of monthly rated workers, and fourteen days' notice in the case of other workers in writing, shall be given by him to his employer: Provided that a worker who terminates his employment under this sub-section shall not be entitled to the payment of any compensation mentioned in sub-section (1), but he shall be entitled to other benefits, if any, under this Act or under any other law for the time being in force. (3) For terminating the employment of a temporary worker by the employer, otherwise than in the manner provided elsewhere in this Act, and if it is not due to the completion, cessation, abolition or discontinuance of the temporary work which he was appointed to perform, one month's notice in the case of monthly rated workers and fourteen days' notice in other cases, in writing shall be given by the employer: Provided that wages for one month or fourteen days as the case may be, may be paid in lieu of such notice. 20. Provident Fund. No worker, who is a member of any Provident Fund, shall be deprived due, to retrenchment, dismissal, discharge or termination of service, of the benefit of the Provident Fund including the employer's contribution thereto, if he is entitled to it under the rules of that Fund. 21. Certificate of service. Every worker (other than a casual or badli worker) shall be entitled to a certificate of service at the time of his retrenchment, discharge, dismissal, retirement or termination of service. 22. Protection of existing conditions of employment. -

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Nothing in this Act shall affect any law, custom, usage or any award, agreement or settlement, in force immediately before the commencement of this Act, if such law, custom, usage, award, agreement or settlement ensures conditions of employment more favourable to the workers than those provided in this Act. 23. Power to exempt. The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, exempt, on such conditions as may be imposed, any shop or commercial or industrial establishment or any class thereof from the operation of all or any of the provisions of this Act. 24. Eviction from residential accommodation. (1) A worker occupying a residential accommodation provided by his employer, who has been retrenched, discharged, dismissed or whose services have been terminated, shall vacate such residential accommodation within a period of fifteen days from the date of his retrenchment, discharge, dismissal or termination of service, as the case may be, unless a case in respect of such retrenchment, discharge, dismissal or termination of service is pending before any court. (2) On default of a worker in vacating the residential accommodation under sub-section (1), the employer may lodge a complaint to a Magistrate of the first class, having jurisdiction. (3) The Magistrate, on hearing the parties, may notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, summarily decide the case and may pass an order of eviction giving the worker reasonable time to quit. (4) The Magistrate may also pass an order directing a police officer to evict such a worker, if necessary, by force, in case he fails to quit the residential accommodation within the time allowed under sub-section (3). (5) The police officer, while acting under an order of the Magistrate under sub-section (4), shall notify the occupants of the premises in question of the contents of the Magistrate's order and his intention to enter into such premises and shall allow at least two hours' time to the occupants to vacate the premises and shall give all reasonable facilities to the children before applying any force for taking over the possession of such premises. 25. Grievance procedure. - (1) Any individual worker (including a person who has been dismissed, discharged, retrenched, laid-off or otherwise removed from employment) who has a grievance in respect of any matter covered under this Act and intends to seek redress there of under this section, shall observe the following procedure;

(a) the worker concerned shall submit his grievance to his employer, in writing, by registered post within fifteen days of the occurrence of the cause of such grievance and the employer shall within fifteen days of receipt of such grievance, enquire into the matter, give the worker concerned an opportunity of being heard and communicate his decision, in writing, to the said worker; (b) if the employer fails to give a decision under clause (a) or if the worker is dissatisfied with such decision, he may make a complaint to the Labor Court having jurisdiction, within, thirty days from the last date under clause (a) or within thirty days from the date of the decision, as the case may be unless the grievance has already been raised or has otherwise been taken cognizance of as labor dispute under the provisions of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 1969: Provided that no complaint shall lie against an order of termination of employment of a worker under section 19, unless the services of the worker concerned is alleged to have been

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terminated for his trade union activities or unless the worker concerned has been deprived of the benefits specified in that section: and (c) on receipt of any complaint under clause (b), the court after notice and given the parties hearing, may decide the matter; (d) in deciding the matter, the court may pass such orders including orders regarding cost, as it may deem just and proper and it may, in appropriate cases, require, by such order, the reinstatement of the complainant thereof and such order shall be final: Provided that any complaint under this section shall not amount to prosecution under section 27 of this Act; (e) no court fee shall be payable for filing or exhibiting of any complaint or document of any kind in the court.

26. Penalty for non-compliance of court's order under section 25. (1) Whoever refuses or fails to comply with an order passed by the court under section 25, may be punished with simple imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or with fine not exceeding Tk. 1000/-or with both. (2) No court shall take cognizance of an offence under sub-section (1) except on complaint made by the aggrieved person. 27. Penalties and procedure. (1) An employer who contravenes any provision of this Act, as applicable to his shop or commercial or industrial establishment, shall, for the first offence, be punishable with fine not exceeding Tk. 500/and in the case of a continuing offence, with a further fine which may extend to Tk. 50/- for every day after the first during which the offence continues and for each of the subsequent offences with a fine which may extend to Tk. 500/- or with simple imprisonment not exceeding one month or with both and in the case of a continuing offence arising out of such subsequent offence with further fine which may extend to Tk. 50/- for every day after the first during which such offence continues. (2) Whoever contravenes any of the provisions of this Act shall, if no other penalty is elsewhere provided by or under this Act for such contravention, be punishable, for the first offence, with a fine which may extend to Tk. 200/- and for each subsequent offence with a fine which may extend to Tk. 200/- or with simple imprisonment not exceeding one month or with both. (3) No prosecution for an offence punishable under this section, shall be instituted except by or under the authority of, or with the previous permission, in writing, of the Chief Inspector or his authorised officers. (4) No court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the first class shall try any offence punishable under this section as well as under section 26. 28. Display of notice of abstracts of the Act. An abstract of the provisions of this Act and rules made thereunder as well as the rules of service regulating employment as mentioned in the proviso to section 3, if any, shall be prominently posted and kept in a legible condition by the employer in Bengali, and (English) on special boards to be maintained for the purpose, in conspicuous places of the shop or commercial or industrial establishment: Provided that this section shall, not apply to any shop or commercial or industrial establishment where the total number of workers employed is less than seven.

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29. Liability of employer. - The employer of every shop or commercial or industrial establishment shall personally be held responsible for proper and faithful observance of the provisions of this Act. 30. Chief Inspector and Inspectors. (1) The Chief Inspector of Factories and Establishments shall be the Chief Inspector, who shall, in addition to the powers conferred on the Chief Inspector under this Act, have the powers of an Inspector throughout Bangladesh and shall also have powers of supervision and control over the Inspectors: Provided that the Chief Inspector may authorise any other officer or officers under him to exercise all or any of his powers for such person as may be specified by him. (2) The Government may, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint such persons or class of persons as it thinks fit to be inspectors for the purposes of this Act, within the local limit as may be assigned to each. (3) An Inspector may, at all reasonable hours, enter any premises and make such examination of any record, register or other document relevant to the enforcement of the provisions of this Act and take, on the spot or otherwise, such evidence of any person and may require the owner or the occupant of such premises to render all reasonable assistance which may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (4) The Chief Inspector and every Inspector shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the Penal, Code, 1860. 31. Powers to make rules. - (1) The Government may, subject to the conditions of previous publication in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying into effect the purposes of this Act. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing powers, such rule may provide for all or any matter which is to be or may be prescribed under this Act. (3) Rules made under this section may provide that a contravention thereof shall be punishable with fine not exceeding Tk. 100/-. 32. (Repealed) Rep. - by Repealing and Amending Ordinance, 1966 (Ordinance XIII of 1966).

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SERVE ON INDUSTRIAL AREA SPARROW APPAREL LTD.

SPARROW APPAREL LTD - It is a woven industry. it was established by MR. Majharul ISLAM & after three years it become a join venture company in Bangladesh. Now this company runs by Korean & the Bangladeshi owner.

In Sparrow, we see that the organizational head is MR Chairman who is a KOREAN person. Its director is now MR. SOVON ISLAM .The directors have two hands. One is Administration Manager & another is factory manager. In Administration section have many department. As like QSM Dept .Head Accounts etc. Another side in the Factor y manager have store Dept, Production Dept. Asst. Factory Manager. etc.[At last we add the organizational structural document. These well organizations maintain this factory in these 14 years. They have a good production capacity. In this factory it has eight lines. Each line has capacity in 1000 trouser pcs production [this number very in style to style] which means they have capacity to produce 8000 pcs garments per day. They maintain very high quality for the product .They have ISO certificate & Wrap certificate. So this well organization creates a great opportunity for our country people in Bangladesh. Organization The organization was established in 1984. First it was a personal organization. From last eight years it becomes a joint venture company. It is the second garment industry that was established in Bangladesh. Actually it produce different types of trouser from the beginning the company starts with Quota. Now they are quota free. The production unit of sparrow equipped with state of the art machinery has set a high standard of productivity. Day by day the people of the factory are putting their intelligence together to find solution and reach greater heights in quality and productivity of the most efficient quality checkers they have, who at each and every major operations check the quality of the garment without will not be carried out. Before fabric enters the production unit i.e. the cutting section, a sample of considerable quantity is send for lab testing which allows them to know regarding the percentage of fabric shrinkage, color shade, weaving problems etc. also they have a fabric inspection machine through which the quality or the defects present in the fabric can be easily identified and corrective action can be taken at the initial stage itself. The frequent quality problems do not arise in the unit as the tailors and operators have got quite a good number of years of experience, which avoids mistakes that may be committed during the production. Which may lead to the rejection of the garment? The good number of knowledgeable checkers in the finishing section also to provide better quality and if any minor alteration are necessary, it is carried out from the finishing section only which is due to the reason that the daily production is not disturbed.The factory represents to top line manufacturers of the world in the field of the apparel machinery like brother from Japan, Hoffman from USA, SWF from Korea, wastema from Germane, PAD from USA, Stefan Eli from Italy, Hashima from Japan etc.

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To run with this competitive market they have setup Cad. The machines used in the production unit are all automated with special attachments which would enable the workers to perform their jobs efficiently without any quality problems. Documentation process It is very well organized in this factory. All kinds of data & information preserving here very strongly.Every order sheet preserving here in a master file. When the Hong Kong office sends them the P.O sheet then thee open a file and collect the information in systematic process. The administration section sends the all order sheet in the reliable department quickly. As like the store room receive the P.O sheet. The store room also preserves the all documentation of fabric &accessories receive & requisition order. This data always upgrade in the computer programmed. So this information can be possible to inform the Management section always in requires time. The design section receive the P.O sheet and collect the marker design from Internet or in floppy disk which is come from in the Hong Kong . They maintain there marking and cutting information in the computer very up to date. The cutting section maintains the ratio during cutting the fabric. This documentation preserve in the file very strongly because this data may be will be important during production or re-production. They inform us that they preserve the all kinds of pattern marking because this style will be again come in this factory after two year or after long time. The quality section maintains the all compliance issue documents very strongly .When the buyer checking in the factory. Then they show this documents which show there standard quality in this sector. The head of the electronic department programmed officer maintain the all programmed of the office. The whole organize system have well organized programmed so all kinds of data &information transfer here to there section very quickly. And all kinds of transaction kept a well document in this LAN system. The commercial section maintains the commercial documents in accurate time. This document helps them in the commercial purpose. Other side this company maintains the worker surely in computerized way. The worker preserve the sticker which show there calculation of varieties operation .During there salary they show the document and its have Barcode. This Barcode [paper check in the machine & calculate the amount of salary Many kinds of documentation process use in this factory. As like the use here BK number which means that Bangladesh Korean .They also use the SK which means Sub contract. This documentation shows me the great achieving for the existing industry .The systematic process is really exciting. Corresponding Buyer Levis. Haggar. Can ladies. Jeans west. Red points. Pad docks. Dockers. Gap.

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The factories also have experience to work with many other buyers. But now they create a good relationship above of this buyer those who are very famous in this Garment business world .They provide them their require quality &other satisfaction .Sometimes they also work with subcontract. This help to maintain there production flow and build a good relationship to other garments. As like in this Post MFA when there order quantity is become down then they try to hold the experience worker by sub-contract. Production steps. In this factory they are only manufacturing the trousers. Some times it can be short and some times it can be long. Some times it can be very fashionable. But the steps of production of these trousers are all most same because they are working in section wise. In this system they have a logistic way, those are as follows: -Production order information received from HK. And make sewing schedule.

-received raw material (fabric and accessories).

-received HK sample.

-Sample section. Approved by fact manager/asst. fact. Manager.

-Cutting received pattern and consumption rate from HK.

-cutting received raw material from store.

-Cutting start and delivery to sewing dept.

-After sewing delivery to bar tack.

-After bar tack delivery to trimming.

-After trimming delivery to washing.

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-After washing delivery iron.

-After iron delivery to bin.

-After Btn delivery to retrimming.

-After retrimming delivery to QC.

-After QC delivery to packing QA.

-After packing QA delivery to folding.

-After packing shipment.

Compliance issues of the factoryAfter MFA opportunity like quota the garment industry of our country has felled in a big challenges. Because the buyers who are giving the order to us, they are very much conscious about compliance issues, so without compliance standard factory will not get order. In the sparrow apparels limited they are very healthy with compliance. The factory was working on quota and they had very branded buyer like- Levis, Dockers etc. Actually most of the buyers of sparrow garment are American. So they try to follow the American standard. Sparrow has already obtained some standard certificate also like ISO standard, WRAP, SA 8000 etc. Applicable laws for RMG sector for Bangladesh that the factory are working from the start of the company: The factory act 1965 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Health and safety safety welfare working hour for adults employment of young workers leave and holidays with wages.

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Penalties and procedure The employment of labor (standing orders) act 1965 The employment record of services) rules 1957 The payment of wages act 1936 The minimum wages ordinance 1961 The workers compensation act 1923 The maternity benefit act 1939 The industrial relations ordinance 1969 All the compliance is not possible to express in this project but the important points are as follows: . Stair ways . Forced labor . Pay provision . Emergency exists . Fire extinguisher . Wage during leave or holiday periods . First aid and boxes . Canteens. Annual leave. . Casual leave and sick leave . Weekly holiday . Health and safety . Extra allowance for overtime . Latrines available . Eye protection . Working hours . Underage workers. .Discrimination .

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Receive design indication from buyer (styling& fabrics)

-Develop design

-Range presentation

-Delivery& price confirmation

-Product development

Pre-production

Production

Logistics

Production planning

Raw material sourcing

Sample approvals

Fabric& trim approvals

Testing

Pre-production meeting

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Pilot run cutting sewing finishing packing shipment audit

Shipment tracking

Product mix of the factory: In this factory they only doing trousers. They are working on denim, twill etc. They work four times in a year. The trousers that they are working on are as follows: Pleated trousers Back yoke trousers Mobile trousers Three quarter trouser. .Long basic trouser. Short pant .Western jeans. Short bib pant. Baggy pant.

That kinds of range they have capacity. In the factory have eight production lines. So varies categorical style run in the several line at a time .So this line balancing & quality operation maintain is very important in this time. This is control by the production manager & Apparel technologist. So we see in this factory follow the bundling system in there production time. They avoid the chin system or other because of there some kinds of facilities .As like different style have some same operation which is needed only one time. Example feed of the arm, overlook & others. This machine set up is always fixed in there space. When the different style need that kinds of operation then the bundle come to the machine and operated. In spite of this s bundle system also help them to utilize the skill labor in their different purposes .And they can use them where see skill and also changing . Product range also depend on the season and production order quantity. When the style has urgent need, then the style may be run in two or three line at a time for quick production .And the style which is not urgent is come into the production line in the next time. So this step p is also control by the factory manager & the production manager also.

Follow up important information section to section

From every section they are giving and taking different types of information from the marker room when the marker are going to the cutting room they are sending information about marker like when it will be laid on the fabric then it can be one way marker or two way marker. Then how many pieces should be laid, etc

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When the cutting is finished then it will go the sewing section .in that time they are providing cutting bundle to the sewing section with a bundle card. In the bundle card there are many information like how many pieces are in the bundle .what about the color .what is the size number what is the cutting numbered. Besides this the cutting section keeping a document with a signature of the person who has taken the particular number of pieces in a particular line. In the same ways they are providing different types of information from section to section.

Compliance Issues (Protect yourself) .This word is hang on the sparrow wall. 1. Goggles 2. Keep yourself down &your collar up. 3. Remove your gloves before touching any part of your body. 4. Wash thoroughly before touching anything goes in your mouth. 5. If you get splashed wash off the chemical immediately. 6. Protective cream will save your skin .use it 7. Bathe and change clothing at the end of each shift. Compliance Issues Less rework, more effective. No good, no pass who mistakes, who repairs. always tight the scissor with the machine with rope. Must be checked the needle guard, Polly cover & belt before starting the sewing machine. The machine must be not run ,if the eye gurd use in the overlook machine.

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Conclusion Though a large number of workers have been working in this sector for a long period of time but still the workforce is not conceptually sound and does not have adequate knowledge and understanding on various issues like: (i) employment conditions, (ii) working conditions, (iii) occupational health and safety, (iv) working environment and other related subjects of social and environmental standards as per national labor laws and international best practices. In Bangladesh, most of the RMG workers are illiterate. As a result, it is a rather difficult task to educate them on various issues on social and environmental standards. In this very situation and considering the diversity of the problems, initiatives in the form of illustrated signs and posters on national labor laws would be of great help and a very effective education tools for building awareness and educating the RMG workers of the country.

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Recommendation Implement proper compliance issue in garment industry.

Bibliography 1. ^ Musthaler, Linda and Brian. Governance, risk management and compliance and what it means to you. Network World, March 7, 2007. 2. ^ Konkle, Joshua L. Legal risk management requires a corporate strategy, mindset and commitment. DCIG,January 9, 2008. 3. ^ US Army Corps of Engineers Glossary. August 1998. 4. ^ http://www.nmsbvi.k12.nm.us/Records/records_def.htm 5. ^ Bauer, Christopher. An ethics self-exam: ethical compliances is not just an issue for external review; auditors must look inward to ensure their own integrity is not compromised. Bnet, June 2004. 6. ^ International Law and International Relations: An International Organization Reader. By Beth A. Simmons, Richard H. Steinberg Contributor Beth A. Simmons, Richard H. Steinberg Edition: illustrated Published by Cambridge University Press, 2007. ISBN 0521861861, 9780521861861 7. ^ Legisprudence: A New Theoretical Approach to Legislation : Proceedings of the Fourth Benelux-Scandinavian Symposium on Legal Theory By Luc Wintgens Contributor Luc Wintgens Edition: illustrated Published by Hart Publishing, 1998 ISBN 1841133426, 9781841133423 8. ^ Law and justice in the courts of classical Athens By Adriaan Lanni Published by Cambridge University Press, 2006 ISBN 0521857597, 9780521857598 9. ^ The Measurement of Moral Judgment By Anne Colby, Lawrence Kohlberg Contributor Lawrence Kohlberg Edition: illustrated Published by CUP Archive, 1987 ISBN 0521325013, 9780521325011 10.^ a b Hassan, Wal. PhD Thesis. University of Ottawa. University of Ottawa Press. 2009 11.^ Armour, J. Share Capital and Creditor Protection: Efficient Rules for a Modern Company Law. ESRC Centre for Business Research - Working Papers wp148, ESRC Centre for Business Research. 1999. 12.^ Ayres, Ian and Gertner, Robert (1992), Strategic Contractual Inefficiency and the Optimal Choice of Legal Rules, 101 Yale Law Journal 729 13.^ Cases and Materials on Contracts By S. M. Waddams, Waddams, S. M., 1942-, Waddams, Trebilcock, mccamus, Neyers, Waldron Edition: 3 Published by Emond Montgomery Publication, 2005 ISBN 1552391663, 9781552391662 14.^ Kim, Won-Kyu. The effect of industrial restructuring policy post-financial crisis. September/October 2007.

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