LABOR LAW OF BANGLADESH

Chapter 7: Health & Safety

ISLAM, SHAH JUNAID RAHMAN, ANIK GHALIB (GAEN PAPI)

Presented To: Barrister Shahariar Rakib Hassan Khan

PROVISIONS OF HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE COMMERCIAL & INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS

The Bangladesh Labor Act, 2006 ensures some provisions regarding the health issue as well as safety for the employees in section 79-88. The Act nominally sets occupational health and safety standards for the worker. According to this Chapter, the workers should be notified such operations which are hazardous and also harmful for their health. The employee has the right to know the information of certain accident and dangerous occurrences happened to their workplace. The womens workers are prohibited here to work in motion of any part of the machinery, near to the dangerous machine and underground and under water. The Chapter also authorizes government to declare any operation that exposes workers to serious risk of bodily injury, poisoning or disease, to be hazardous and to make rules for securing the safety of persons employed on factory or industrial establishments. There should be effective precautions in case of hazardous machinery where necessary.

DANGEROUS OPERATIONS
The Act nominally sets a provision for dangerous operation and the Rules of the Factories provide a list of dangerous operations. Section 79 of the Act stats that where the Government is satisfied that any operation carried on in an establishment exposes any person employed in it to a serious risk of bodily injury, poisoning, or disease, it may make rules applicable to such establishment in which such operation is carried on specifying the operation and declaring it to be hazardous; prohibiting or restricting the employment of women, adolescents or children in the operation; providing for the periodical medical examination of persons employed in the operation and prohibiting the employment of such persons no certified as fit for such employment as fit for such employment; providing for the protection of all persons employed in the operation or in the vicinity of the places where it is carried on; and providing for notices with regard to careful use of any harmful chemicals in connection with the operation.

NOTICE FOR CERTAIN ACCIDENT Industrial accidents in Bangladesh are comparatively

higher than is industrially advanced countries. Under the Bangladesh Labour Act, it is obligatory on the part of the employer of any factory or any establishment to report all accidents which cause death or which cause bodily injury whether any injured person is prevented from resuming work during the next 48 Hours. Section 80 of the Act has given the right to employees to know the information of certain accidents happened to their workplace. According to the section, where in any establishment an accident occurs which causes death, or any bodily injury or any explosion, fire, forceful entrance of water or fumes as a result of accident as mentioned in sub-section (1) above, is prevented from resuming his work in the factory during the forty-eight hours immediately following the accident this most be entered into a register prescribed by rules. A copy of register referred to in sub-section (2) must be sent to the Chief Inspector within fifteen days following 31st December every year starting from 30th June.

NOTICE OF SOME DANGEROUS OCCURENCES

The policy of section 81 of the Act has been to prevent from dangerous occurrences. Section 81 of the Act has given the right to employees to know the information of certain accident and dangerous occurrences happened to their workplace. According to section 80 of the Act, where in any establishment any dangerous occurrences specified by rules in this behalf occur, the employer shall send notice thereof to the Inspector within three working days following the accident although no death or bodily injury has been caused to any person.

NOTICE OF CERTAIN DISEASE Under the Bangladesh Labour Act, it is obligatory on the part of the
employer or the worker or any person appointed by him of any establishment to report certain diseases where any worker in an establishment contacts any of following diseases which are specified in the second schedule of the Labour Act to the inspector. The noticeable diseases are as: In this circumstances, if any registered medical practitioner attends on a person who is, or has been employed in an establishment and who is, or is believed by such medical practitioner to be, suffering from any disease specified in the Second Schedule, the medical practitioner shall, without delay, send a report in writing to the Chief Inspector stating-the name and full postal address of the patient; the disease from which he believes the patient to be suffering; and the name and address of the factory in which the patient is or was last employed.

POWER TO DIRECT ENQUIRY INTO CASES OF ACCIDENT OR DISEASE

Section 83 of the Act lays down that the Government may, if it considers it expedient so to do, appoint a competent person under intimation to all concerned to enquire into the causes of any accident, any explosion, fire, forceful entrance of water or fumes as a result of accident occurring in an establishment, or into any case where a disease specified in the Second Schedule has been, or is suspected to have been, contacted in an establishment and may also appoint one or more persons possessing legal or special knowledge to act as assessors in such enquiry. The person appointed to hold an enquiry under this section shall have all the powers of a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, for the purposes of enforcing the attendance of witnesses and compelling the production of documents and material objects, and every person required by the person making the enquiry to furnish any information shall be deemed to be legally bound so to do so within the meaning of section 176 of the Penal Code, 1860 (XLV of 1860). Such person may also, so far as may be necessary for the purpose of the enquiry, exercise any of the powers of an Inspector under this Act. The person holding an enquiry under this section shall make a report to the Government stating the cause of the accident or as the case may be, disease, and any attendant circumstances, and adding thereto any observations which he, or any of the assessors, may think fit to make. The Government, if it thinks fit, cause to be published any such report in the manner and time as fixed by it.

POWER TO TAKE SAMPLES

Section 84(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act stipulates that an Inspector may take a sufficient sample of any substance used or intended to be used in the establishment at any time during the normal working hours of an establishment, after informing the employer, such use being or likely to cause bodily injury to or injury to the health of, workers in the establishment. Where the Inspector takes sample under sub-section (1), he shall in the presence of the employer unless the employer willfully absents himself, divide the sample into three portions and effectively seal and suitably mark them, and shall permit the employer to add his own seal and mark thereon.

POWER OF THE INSPECTOR IN CASE OF SOME DANGERS

Section 85(1) of the Act makes it clear that Inspector has a power to report direct in the letter to rectify such matter is dangerous to the life and safety of people or such faulty that it may cause physical injury to human being, where no provision for any matter has been provided for in this Act. If the Inspector seems that the life and safety of any worker working in an establishment is under imminent danger, he may inform that same to the owner in writing by describing his reasons and may prohibit , until he is satisfied that the danger has been removed, the employment of any worker in that establishment. Any owner aggrieved by the order under sub-section (3) may appeal to the Chief Inspector within ten days of receipt of such order and the Chief Inspector may confirm, modify or cancel the order.

GIVING INFORMATION OF DANGEROUS BUILDING AND MACHINERY

Where any worker discovers in an establishment that any building or machinery of it which the workers usually use is in such dangerous condition that this may cause physical injury to any worker, he shall inform that same immediately to the owner by writing. If the owner, after receiving such information, fails to take appropriate measures and any worker is physically injured as a result of such dangerous building or machinery, he shall the worker which will be double the rate of compensation given in chapter 12 for such type of injury.