Bangladesh – German Development Cooperation

PROGRESS
House 10C, Road 90, Gulshan 2, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh
Tel: +880 2 9887567, Fax: +880 2 8813769
E-mail: progress@gtz.de,[->0] Websites: www.gtz.de[->1], www.gtz-progress.org[->2]

Working Paper No – 6

A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE BANGLADESH LABOR LAW 2006 AND 7
GENERAL CODES OF CONDUCT

By

Ameena Chowdhury Hanna Denecke

Dhaka, October 21, 2007

PROGRESS (promotion of social, environmental and production standards in the ready-made garment sector) is a joint program of the Bangladesh Ministry of Commerce and the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by GTZ.

Executive Summary

The Readymade Garment (RMG) sector in Bangladesh is a highly export oriented sector and therefore extremely volatile to requirements of international buyers. Since the adherence to international social standards has become a mandatory requirement in the international business arena, the local suppliers have to be compliant to these standards in order to remain in business.

There have been some significant revisions to the Bangladesh Labor Law in 2006. This newly revised law already covers a lot of the common standards like employment conditions, occupational health and safety issues as well as the ILO core labor standards. Besides being complaint to the national labor law, the suppliers must also adhere to the international standards. These international standards may be defined through their individual buyers’ codes of conduct or general codes of the conduct. Compliance to the buyers’ codes of conduct is mandatory but compliance to the general codes of conduct is optional unless the buyer accepts a specific general code as a substitute for its own audits or requirements. These voluntary monitoring or verification initiatives have taken root since the 1990s to add legitimacy and credibility to companies’ social and environmental compliance programs.

This study is a comparative analysis of the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 with seven internationally recognized general codes of conducts. The general codes of conduct are:

• SA8000 of Social Accountability International (SAI)
• Base Code of the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)
• Fair Labor Association (FLA)
• Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)
• Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)
• Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP)
• Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers’ Rights (JO-IN).
Besides, the JO-IN code, the other six codes are prevalent in the Bangladeshi RMG sector. The comparative analysis shows that the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 significantly covers majority of the requirements of the different general codes of conduct. This indicates that if a factory is 100% compliant to the national law, it will cover approximately 85% of the requirements of the other general codes of conduct. Hence RMG factories should be encouraged to improve their compliance with the national law as a first step towards meeting the compliance demands of the brands and retailers who they supply to.

The analysis does reveal that a few requirements are not fully or partially covered by the national labor law. It should be noted that the components which are not fully covered by the Bangladesh Labor Law are either covered by the Bangladesh Constitution or are not directly applicable in the Bangladesh context.

This study clearly reveals that the revised Bangladesh Labor Law along with other supporting national legislations such as the Bangladesh Building Code and the Environmental Conservation Rules as well as the overall constitutional framework of Bangladesh, provides a comprehensive guideline for factories in the RMG sector to comply with majority of all international social compliance and environmental standards.

Having good pieces of legislations establishes a solid platform for meeting national laws and internationally defined working standards. However, one of the main challenges is enforcing the laws. In order to do so effectively, awareness creation on the laws and standards is of paramount importance. Campaigns should focus on knowledge dissemination on the content, the implementation procedures and how to monitor and maintain the implemented status. Another critical aspect is training personnel such as the government’s factory inspectors and the associations’ social compliance monitors who are responsible for enforcing the correct implementation of the legislations and standards.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................ 1

2 General Codes of Conduct ................................................................................ 1

2.1 Definition of Codes ...................................................................................................1

2.2 Basis of codes ..........................................................................................................2

2.3 How codes evolved ..................................................................................................3

2.4 Classification of codes ..............................................................................................4

3 Comparison of the Bangladesh Labor Law and general codes of conduct.. 4

3.1 Selected indicators ...................................................................................................4

3.2 Analysis ....................................................................................................................6

4 Main Findings ..................................................................................................... 8

5 Differences between the codes of conduct ................................................... 11

Social Accountability (SA) 8000 ......................................................................................11

Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) .................................................................11

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) .........................................................................................12

Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) .....................................................12

Fair Labor Association (FLA) ..........................................................................................13

Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) ..........................................................................................13

Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers Rights (JO-IN) ........................13

6 Practical problems of implementation ........................................................... 14

7 Conclusion ....................................................................................................... 15

Annexures......................................................................................................... 15

Annex I: Classification of general codes of conduct .................................... 15

Annex II: Detailed comparison of the Bangladesh Labor Law and seven
General Codes of Conduct .............................................................................. 19

I

A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

List of Abbreviations

BLL 2006 Bangladesh Labor Law 2006
BSCI Business Social Compliance Initiative
ETI Ethical Trading Initiative FLA Fair Labor Association FWF Fair Wear Foundation
JO-IN Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers’ Rights
NGO Non-governmental organization
RMG Ready-made garment
SAI Social Accountability Int. SA 8000
WRAP Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production

II

A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

1 Introduction

The program for “Promotion of Social, Environmental and Production Standards in the Readymade Garments Sector”, in short referred to as PROGRESS, is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ). It is jointly implemented by the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) and the German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ). It concentrates on increasing competitiveness and adherence to social and environmental standards in the ready made garment (RMG).

One of the issues related to the RMG sector in Bangladesh is the existences of numerous different codes of conduct which suppliers have to adhere to. Besides, these codes, the suppliers must also comply with all the requirements of the national legislations. In 2006, the Bangladesh Labor Law went through some major revisions. The revisions combined 25 scattered Acts and Ordinances to formulate one updated code.

PROGRESS undertook this in-house study to analyze seven leading codes of conduct which are prevalent to the Bangladeshi RMG sector and compare the codes with the newly revised national labor law by highlighting all deviations. The general codes of conduct for comparison considered for this study are Social Accountability International (SAI), Fair Wear Foundation (FWF), Fair Labor Association (FLA), Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Jo-In Code, Business for Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) and Worldwide Responsible Apparels Program
(WRAP).

One of the main objectives of PROGRESS is to do capacity building with the different stakeholders in the RMG sector such as the government and the business associations so that they can provide better services to the sector and ensure that majority of factories in the RMG sector are compliant at least to the national labor law. The findings of this study serve as a basis to reinstate the fact that the revised labor law is a comprehensive piece of legislation which covers majority of the international requirements of most general codes of conduct. By being 100% compliant with the national labor law, a supplier has significantly met majority of the international requirements.

The Bangladesh Labor Law has gone through some majority revisions in 2006 which has made it into a strong piece of legislation. However, it is not still 100% perfect. There are still few gaps and lackings which need to be adjusted and amended in the future. As implementation of the revised law is ongoing, numerous other deficiencies might gradually be identified over time. Since recent revisions just took place, another series of revisions are not anticipated in the near future.

This comparative analysis of the newly revised Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct clearly illustrates where the commonalities and differences are. Overall, the recent revisions to the Bangladesh Labor Law and other national legislations that are associated with the RMG sector such as the Bangladesh Building Code and the Environmental Conservation Rules jointly provide comprehensive guidelines for RMG suppliers to manufacture and export products under socially and environmentally responsible working conditions which also meet majority of all prevailing international standards.

2 General Codes of Conduct

2.1 Definition of Codes

The interest in the social situation of workers in developing countries has increased constantly over the last years in particular under civil societies and consumers in the industrialized countries. Social criteria have become an important part of consumer and investment decisions of individuals and organizations and therefore also big brands and retailers become more aware of compliance to social standards. Since Bangladesh is part of

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

the global market social compliance is extremely relevant for the export-oriented industry of Bangladesh, especially for the RMG sector. For competitiveness in the global markets, the compliance with environmental and social standards is a key point.

Through modern information and communication technologies the economic activity of companies becomes increasingly transparent and makes it easier for the civil society to uncover and communicate social and ecological failure of multinational companies. Companies know about the vulnerability of their brand names and messages concerning bad working conditions can easily damage their image as well as the market position. A social responsible management policy is therefore in the long-term interest of the enterprise. However companies can have a positive influence on the economic development in the target countries through the introduction of social standards and on the same time improve their image and market share through social and ecologically responsible behavior.

To address these issues voluntary monitoring or verification initiatives have taken root since the 1990s to add legitimacy and credibility to companies’ labor compliance programs. They are all voluntary, meaning that companies opt to participate in them. Each requires member companies to adopt its respective workplace code of conduct and verifies that they have complied with organizational requirements.

Today, some industries have developed or are developing codes for the entire industry. That can be best seen for the apparel and footwear sector. General Codes of Conduct as well as buyers’ codes are very common in this industry.

These codes of conduct are rules, which companies impose upon themselves in order to embody social and ecological goals in the enterprise. Companies formulate these rules mostly for itself and partly also for the suppliers and orient themselves with the formulation at the international regulations and agreements already mentioned.

Codes of conducts may also be recognized as useful instruments to build on the companies’ image. A lot of companies are participating in this initiatives to show their interests in improving the working conditions of their business partners/suppliers across the global. Fair trade and buying practices are a competitive advantage for many businesses. The codes show their commitment to this process.

Codes of conduct may be developed through a multistakeholder approach such as ETI etc. or companies may have their own codes of conduct which are specific for their suppliers or codes could be sector specific such as for garments, food, electronics etc.

2.2 Basis of codes

Social compliance can be measured in relation to a certain standard. Concerning environmental and quality management a multiplicity of standards and certification systems already exist. The introduction of examinable social standards represents however a new challenge. Internationally recognized social standards exist, e.g.

− United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights ƒ UN Convention on Children's Rights ƒ UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women
− ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work
− Rio Declaration on Environment and Development

However these are guidelines and recommendations which can be converted voluntarily. Standards that can be certified only exist to a small extent.

Most of the codes refer to these mentioned international standards, especially the ILO core labor standards. The ILO formulates international standards in the form of conventions and recommendations setting minimum standards of basic labor rights: ƒ Freedom of association ƒ The right to organize

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

ƒ Collective bargaining ƒ Abolition of forced labor ƒ Equality of opportunity and treatment
Besides the above mentioned standards, there are other standards regulating conditions across the entire spectrum of the work related issues.

These principles are concretized in eight ILO conventions, in each case two for the four fundamental principles mentioned (see table 1). The ILO conventions are obligatory only if they are ratified by the member states. The entire number of the ratifications increased in the last years noticeably and varies - depending upon convention - in the order of magnitude between 148 and 172. Until July 2007, 128 countries had ratified all eight conventions. Bangladesh has ratified seven out of the eight core conventions.

Table 1: ILO Core-Conventions and ratifications in Bangladesh1

Standard|Convention Ratification|
Freedom of association and bargaining|Convention 87 (Freedom of association) YesConvention 98 (Right to organize& collective bargaining) Yes|
Elimination of forced and compulsory labor|Convention 29 (Forced labor) YesConvention 105 (Abolition of forced labor) Yes|
Elimination of discrimination|Convention 100 (equal remuneration) YesConvention 111 (employment and occupation) Yes|
Abolition of child labor|Convention 138 (Minimum age) NoConvention 182 (worst forms of child labor) Yes|

Codes of practice develop frequently from public pressure or are preventively developed. In addition to the mentioned core labor standards these codes include general working conditions like occupational health and safety, minimum wages, leave days and working hours. Other common aspects include women’s rights or environmental standards. Also the implementation of a management system can be a requirement.

2.3 How codes evolved

The overall aim of social standards is to protect the workers. During the industrialization in Europe they evolved as a reaction to bad working conditions in the newly emerging factories. The depletion of large parts of the workforce moved child labor, forced labor, freedom of association and collective bargaining as well as women’s rights in the centre of public attention.

Socially responsible behavior - this means also ecologically responsible behavior - has its starting point predominantly in the developed industrialized countries. The observance of social standards must be further supervised also in these countries. The by far larger action needs lie however in developing and emerging countries. Through the increasing world-wide division of labor large parts of the production chain are located in developing countries which have deficits with the observance of social standards.

While working abroad companies are supposed to be compliant to the legal regulations. In developing and emerging countries legal regulations do not always correspond to the domestic standards of the companies. So it can be difficult for companies to combine national legislation and generally recognized basic values. Even if the legislation in developing and emerging countries corresponds to the standards of the industrialized countries there are deficits in monitoring and implementation of the standards.

1 Refer to the ILO website: http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/docs/declworld.htm.[->3]

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

However an internationally defined and recognized social standard does not exist. Thus different stakeholder came up with the idea of codes of conduct to verify the compliance to international social standards.

Social standards are extremely important in an industrialized world. Nowadays due to financial benefits, most companies outsource their production to developing countries where compliance to social standards is not as important. The problem is that consumers and respective governments ask for socially responsible behavior and working conditions and often the suppliers and governments of the developing countries cannot enforce or ensure compliance to these international standards. This issue has become a concern for the companies located in Europe and the USA and hence the companies came up with formulating codes of conduct which their suppliers have to adhere to if they want to do business with them.

Companies started off by developing their own codes of conduct. Then gradually as the codes evolved, many companies teamed up with NGOs, trade unions, academia etc. to formulate common codes of conduct. Most general codes of conduct were developed with this multistakeholder approach.

2.4 Classification of codes

The codes of conduct can be classified: 2

• depending upon the standards they contain (all codes have similar requirements but differ in the definitions/design and some have also additional requirements e.g. waste management or anti-bribery policy);

• depending upon which organization or institution introduced the code and who controls the observance (companies, enterprise federations, trade unions, NGOs, management consultations or testing institutes);

• depending upon their members and their prevalence (European companies/market, US-American brands/market);

• depending upon the range of application (e.g. the enterprise-own factories or whole supply chain, etc.);

• depending upon the covered products (only garment, consumer goods, food, industry-wide);

• depending upon the methods for their implementation/control (monitoring, certification, and certification).

3 Comparison of the Bangladesh Labor Law and general codes of conduct

3.1 Selected indicators

The comparative analysis is categorized according to the ILO core labor standards, employment conditions, occupational health and safety issues and other aspects. Within these four categories subjects were identified as well as indicators to measure the implementation and coverage of the subjects. The indicators were selected according to the most common aspects of the general codes as well as the Bangladesh Labor Law.

2 Please refer to Annex I for a broad overview on the general codes of conduct.

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

Subjects of

Codes of Conduct

ILO Core Labor
Standards

Employment
Conditions

Occupational
Health and safety

Other Aspects

Child Labor

Harassment and
Abuse

Health

Environment

Forced Labor

Wages

Workplace Conditions

Women’s Rights

Freedom of Association

Working Hours

Welfare

Managment

Discrimination

Leave ad Holidays

Safety

Employment
Relationship

OHS Management
System and Training

Others

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

3.2 Analysis

Please note that the grey colored areas indicate coverage

Please note that the light grey areas indicate indirect coverage

|Subject|Indicators|BLL2006|SAI|ETI|BSCI|WRAP|FLA|FWF|JO-IN|
ILO Core Labor Standards|Child Labor|No work below the age of 14||15|||||15|15|
||Light work between the age of 12 and 14|||||||||
||Assistance to replaced child workers|||||||||
|Adolescent|Identification system/age records|||||||||
||No dangerous work|||||||||
|Forced Labor|Forced labor|||||||||
||Bonded labor|||||||||
||Prison labor|||||||||
||No confiscated original documentation|||||||||
|Freedom ofAssociation|Trade unions|||||||||
||Labor representatives|||||||||
||Company facilitates parallel means when restricted by law|||||||||
||Representatives access to workplace|||||||||
|Discrimination|Gender|||||||||
||Origin/ethnics|||||||||
||Trade union affiliation|||||||||
||Religion|||||||||
||Political opinion|||||||||
Employment Conditions|Harassment and Abuse|Physical abuse|*||||||||
||Sexual harassment|*||||||||
||Verbal abuse|*||||||||
|Wages|Minimum wage|||||||||
||Overtime pay|||||||||
||Leave pay|||||||||
||Regular payment|||||||||
||No illegal deductions|||||||||
|Working Hours|Maximum 8/day-48/week|||||||||
||Overtime 2/day-12/week|||||||||
||Overtime voluntary|||||||||
|Leave and holiday|Weekly = 1 day off|||||||||
||Annual/casual/sick|||||||||
||Festival holidays|||||||||

* limited to female workers

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

Please note that the grey colored areas indicate coverage

Please note that the light grey areas indicate indirect coverage

|Subject|Indicators|BLL2006|SAI|ETI|BSCI|WRAP|FLA|FWF|JO-IN|
Occupational Health & Safety|Health|First aid appliances|||||||||
||Medical facilities|||||||||
||Drinking water|||||||||
||Sanitary facilities for food storage|||||||||
||Clean dormitories where provided|||||||||
|WorkplaceConditions|Space|||||||||
||Temperature|||||||||
||Ventilation|||||||||
||Noise|||||||||
||Light|||||||||
|Welfare|Restroom|||||||||
||Child room|||||||||
||Canteen|||||||||
|Safety|Fire extinguisher|||||||||
||Gates/stairs|||||||||
||Emergency exits|||||||||
||Building safety|||||||||
||Machinery safety|||||||||
||Personal protective equipment (PPE)|||||||||
|H&S Management|Management representative for OHS|||||||||
||OHS management system (regulations, system to detect…)|||||||||
|Training|Regular health & safety training|||||||||
Others|Environment|Waste management||**|||||||
||Emission or effluents treatment||**|||||||
|Women’sRights|No discrimination|||||||||
||Maternity leave and benefit|||||||||
||No dangerous work|||||||||
|Management|Implementation of management system|||||||||
||Anti-bribery and anti-corruption policy|||||||||
|EmploymentRelationship|Legally binding employment relationship|||||||||
|Others|Legal compliance|||||||||
||Customs compliance|||||||||
||Security procedures for outbound shipments|||||||||

** The SAI code of conduct recommends that companies comply by the ISO 14000 series to meet all environmental requirements.

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

4 Main Findings

The comparison matrix shows that the revised Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 covers majority of the requirements of the general codes of conduct.

From the above matrices, it may be seen that across the board, majority of the general codes and the BLL 2006 state that no work below the age of 14 is allowed. According to SAI, the definition of a “child” is an individual below or equal to the age of 15 but the code states that if the national law sets the minimum age to be 14 (as per ILO Convention 138), the lower age will apply. The ETI and FLA codes state the same principle. The WRAP codes states that the minimum age should be at least 14. The BSCI code clearly states that the minimum age should be whatever is defined by the national labor law. However, the SAI, FWF and Jo-In codes are more strict and clearly state that the minimum age must be 15 or above. In the case of SAI, since Bangladesh is not included in the list of countries where ILO Convention
138 applies, the minimum age must be 15 or above even though the national labor law states that the minimum age is 14.

Although the minimum age to work is 14, the BLL 2006 has a special clause which states that children between the ages of 12 and 14 may be employed to do “light work” that does not endanger his/her health, development or interfere with his/her education. As per section
44, it is mandatory that the hours of work should be arranged such that it does not interfere with the child’s school attendance.

The BLL 2006 defines an adolescent as an individual between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age. The BLL 2006 states that an adolescent may work for a maximum of 5 hours a day, that is, 30 hours a week. However, they cannot work between 7:00pm to 7:00am. The work must be limited to a maximum of 2 shifts and one shift cannot exceed seven and a half hours of work. In the comparison matrix, it may be clearly seen that the requirements concerning adolescent labor is the same across the board.

The issue of “assistance to replaced child workers” is not addresses in the Bangladesh Labor
Law and the other 4 codes of conduct which are WRAP, FLA and FWF.

The comparison matrix shows that besides BLL 2006, all the general codes of conduct cover the requirements under the forced labor category under the ILO Core Labor Standards. The rationale behind this is that the issue of forced labor is not that applicable in Bangladesh. Bonded labor and prison labor are non-existent in Bangladesh.

The BLL 2006 does not mention the forced labor requirements, however, Article 34 of the Bangladesh Constitution prohibits any form of forced labor. Any law approving forced labor is null and void as per the constitutional framework of the Bangladesh legislation. Also, Bangladesh has ratified both the ILO Conventions 29 and 105 which cover all forced labor requirements.

“Companies facilitate parallel means when restricted by law” requirement under the “freedom of association” category is not covered by the BLL 2006, WRAP, FLA or Jo-In codes. However, section 205 of the BLL 2006 clearly states that when a factory has more than 50 or more permanent workers are employed, a participation committee needs to be formed taking equal number of representatives from the workers and factory management. In factories where there are no trade unions, the workers representatives shall be nominated by the workers.

Section 206 of the BLL 2006 states that the participation committee shall meet at least once every two months to discuss and exchange views and recommend measures for defined functions of the participation committee. The proceeding of each such meeting shall be forwarded to the Directorate of Labor and the conciliator within seven days of meetings.

Under the “Discrimination” component of the ILO Core Labor Standards, the Bangladesh
Labor Law 2006 does not cover the origin/ethics, religion and political opinion. All the 7

8

A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

general codes of conduct cover these aspects. Although these aspects are not covered in the BLL 2006 but Article 28 of the Bangladesh Constitution clearly states that no discrimination against religion, cast, race, sex or place of birth is allowed. Discrimination on any ground is prohibited under the constitutional framework of the Bangladesh legislation.

The BLL 2006 does fully cover the gender and trade union affiliation aspects.

The Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 covers the ILO’s “Harassment and Abuse” requirements
100% but the law restricts all the subcomponents to females only. The remaining 7 codes of conduct do not have this restriction.

Voluntary overtime is not covered by the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 however since all forms of forced labor are prohibited according to the Bangladesh Constitution, all overtime is voluntary.

The BLL 2006 states that overtime payments are double of the basic wages. All other codes state that they should be at a premium rate which is usually double of the basic wages. The Jo-In Code states that the overtime payment rate should be one and a half of the regular hourly compensation rate.

The WRAP code of conduct allows excessive overtime (beyond the defined maximum allowed time period) in case of urgent business needs but the excessive hours should be more than 12 weeks in a year.

The leave and holidays requirements are fully covered by the BLL 2006 as well as the general codes of conduct.

Sanitary conditions of food storage are not covered by the Bangladesh Labor Law, WRAP, FLA and FWF. But according to section 92 of the BLL 2006 states that all factories must have an in-house canteen for every 100 workers.

Clean dormitories where provided are mandatory under all the other codes of conduct except the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006. The rationale behind this is that factories with dormitories are very rare in Bangladesh. The workers usually live in the vicinity of where they work hence dormitories are not that applicable in the Bangladesh context. However, nowadays a lot of new, purpose built factories are having dormitories.

In terms of working conditions, issues regarding the noise level are not stated in the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 or the Jo-In Code but the Bangladesh Environment Acts clearly define the exact level noise that factories must adhere to. Besides the noise issue, all the other working condition requirements of the general codes of conduct are fully covered in the BLL 2006.

The welfare and safety requirements of the general codes of conduct are also fully covered by the BLL 2006. The BLL 2006 states very specific requirements regarding the safety aspects. For example, there must be one fire extinguisher for every 1000 square feet of space.

The health and safety management is not covered by the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006. ETI and WRAP also do not cover the OHS management system requirements and the FWF does not state that there must be an OHS management representative. Management systems are usually additional requirements by some brands and retailers.

Regular health and safety training is not mentioned in the BLL 2006 directly whereas it is thoroughly covered in the general codes of conduct. The BLL 2006 does state some safety training requirements. Regarding fire safety issues, if a factory has more than 10 workers on any floor beyond the ground level, a training of means of escape in case of a fire, is required. Also, if a factory has more than 50 employees, a fire drill once a year in mandatory and every
6 months is recommended.

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

Regarding health issues, the BLL 2006 states that for every 150 workers, there must be one first aid box and there must be one trained person per first aid box.

The Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and the Environment Conservation Rules (ECR) 1997 thoroughly cover the environment aspects such as waste management, effluent treatments, ETPs etc., whereas some of the general codes of conduct do not cover the requirements directly. For instance, the waste management requirements are covered indirectly by SAI, ETI and JO-IN codes. The emission or effluents treatments are also covered indirectly by
SAI, ETI, FLA, FWF and JO-IN codes. However, it should be noted that the SAI recommends that the factories comply to the ISO 14000 series in order to meet all environmental laws and standards.

The BLL 2006 covers the women’s’ rights issues comprehensively. The maternity leave is 1 weeks (8 weeks before and 8 weeks after child birth). However, the worker is not entitled to this benefit if she has worked for less than 6 months with the employer prior to the notice of requesting maternity leave. The law states three options for payment of maternity benefits. One option is the employer shall pay the total benefits for the preceding 8 weeks within 3 days after the worker has submitted the certificate stating the probability of child birth by a registered physician and shall pay the remaining amount after 3 working days on submission of the proof of birth. Another option is that the employer must pay all benefits together with 3 days from submission of the proof of child birth. The last option is the employer shall pay all the benefits for the preceding 8 weeks including the day of delivery. This payment must be made within 3 working days of submission of proof of pregnancy. The remaining payment may be made within the next 8 weeks after the proof of delivery has been submitted.

The BLL 2006 also states that the wage structure cannot be defined as per the sex of the worker so any form of discrimination against women is prohibited by the labor law as well as the overall constitution. Section 109 of the BLL 2006 clearly states that female workers are not allowed to work between the time period of 10:00pm and 6:00am without consent.

The BLL 2006 also covers the “no dangerous work for women” component thoroughly. Section 87 of the BLL 2006 states that women workers shall not be allowed to work with running or dangerous machines, unless they are sufficiently trained to operate such machinery. Also, no under water or under ground work is permitted for women.

Implementation of management systems is not covered by the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, ETI, WRAP and FLA. Also, only the BSCI code covers the anti-bribery and anti-corruption policies.

The employment relationship component is thoroughly covered by the Bangladesh Labor Law as well as all the general codes of conduct. This component has been further strengthened in the BLL 2006. Appointment letters, ID cards and service books are mandatory for all employees. The law defines what information should be included in the appointment letter. Also, the law clearly states that the service book needs to be signed by both the employer and the worker. The law provides a list of information which is to be maintained in the service book of each worker.

The issue of legal compliance is covered by the BLL 2006 and all the codes of conduct. Compliance to all applicable national laws and regulations is mandatory in all countries.

The comparison study also revealed that out of all codes of conduct and the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006, only the WRAP code had requirements regarding customs compliance and security procedures for outbound shipments.

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

5 Differences between the codes of conduct

The seven codes of conduct that were chosen for this analysis have similar requirements. As the comparison shows all of the codes include common social and workplace standards:3

• Prohibition of child labor
• Prohibition of forced labor
• Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
• Prohibition of discrimination
• Prohibition of harassment and abuse
• Wages, working hours, leave and holidays
• Workplace health and safety
• Regular health and safety trainings
• Compliance to national legislation

Nevertheless, designs and definitions differ from code to code and some codes also have special requirements that go above and beyond others as well as the national legislation. Some codes include also environmental aspects like waste management or the treatment of effluents and emissions. Other codes require the implementation of a management system to ensure the proper realization of the code requirements. Certain codes also include customs compliance or establishment of an anti-bribery/anti-corruption policy.

Social Accountability (SA) 8000

The SA8000 standard has been developed by the USA based organization, Social Accountability International in 1997. The standard is based on the ILO conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the ILO conventions on the Rights of the Child. The SAI code of conduct is mostly prevalent in the USA and UK. The SAI code of conduct covers the whole supply chain of factory/farm/facility. It is not a code which is specific to the apparels sector.

The SAI has a certification process for companies. The SA8000 standards are very high and well respected in the business arena. A lot of brands and retailers in the apparels sector tend to forego their own audits with factories that are SA 8000 certified. The SA8000 certificate is valid for 3 years however, surveillance audits take place every 6 months. The public is informed only of factories granted certification. Currently, in Bangladesh, there are only two garment factories that are SA8000 certified.

The costs involved with a SA8000 audit include a registration fee of US$500-650. The independent audits cost US$500 to US$1500 per day. The costs depend on number of days, size of facility, scope and location of facility. The total fee for certification services and annual surveillances for 3 year would be around US$4000 to US$6000 per facility.

In addition to the common workplace standards, the SA8000 requires the implementation of a management system to ensure the proper implementation of the requirements. Among other things, this includes the definition of the company’s policy for social accountability and labor conditions, planning and implementation aspects, the control of suppliers/subcontractors and sub-suppliers as well as outside communication and access for verification. Furthermore, SA8000 requests to establish systems to detect avoid or respond to potential threats to the health and safety of all personnel.

Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)

BSCI is a European industry based initiative for monitoring social standards in all supplier countries and for all kinds of consumer goods. The member companies commit themselves

3 Please refer to Annex II for the detailed contents of the codes of conduct.

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

to the observance of the BSCI code of conduct. The BSCI code is prevalent among European brands and retailers. The code applies to direct suppliers as well as subcontractors.

The BSCI code does not offer a certificate but suppliers who are compliant with the BSCI requirements can apply for a SA8000 certification. A factory is qualified for a period of 3 years but there are periodic audits in between at random intervals. The audit results are placed in the BSCI databank which can only be accessed by BSCI member companies. The audit results are also provided to respective retailers/brands and factories undergoing the audit.

The BSCI refers to the ILO conventions other relevant international regulations as well as to national and local regulations. The producers are responsible for the implementation of the code in their supplying factories.

Similar to SA8000, the BSCI standard requires the implementation of a management system and the setting up of systems to detect avoid or respond to potential threats to the health and safety of all personnel In addition to that, the BSCI code requests to establish and follow an anti-bribery/anti-corruption policy in all of their business activities.

Some particular elements of the BSCI code are environmental and safety issues. The BSCI code requires the implementation of procedures and standards for handling and disposure of chemicals and other dangerous materials. Moreover, the treatment of emissions and effluent must meet or exceed minimum legal requirements.

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)

The ETI was established in 1998 and is a UK based organization with members from sourcing companies, trade union organizations and NGOs. It is a multistakeholder initiative. The ETI code of conduct covers the whole supply chain of garment, food and horticulture products. The code is mostly applicable to suppliers exporting to the UK. The ETI base code addresses the common labor standards and is based on ILO conventions.

The ETI does not issue ethical trade certificates or labels to any company. Members are encouraged to implement the code and are committed to monitor the process. The audit results are not public. The ETI publishes annual reports that summarize the progress of code implementation. The costs of conducting an ETI audit is less that £1000.

Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP)

WRAP is an industry-based initiative that was launched by American Apparel Manufacturing Association which is currently known as the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Similar to SA8000, WRAP allows for a certification of individual workplace facilities. The audits are conducted by WRAP-accredited independent monitors. WRAP is a very popular code especially within US-American brands but is also endorsed by manufacturers’ associations in Latin America, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean.

The WRAP principles are based on national regulations of countries where manufacturing is taking place. Only few requirements of the WRAP code goes beyond the requirements of the national laws. The code also addresses all common labor standards. But contrary to all other codes, WRAP does not specify the maximum working hours or defines forced labor, discrimination and harassment and abuse as detailed as the other codes. These may be some reasons why the initiative has received criticism by trade unions and NGOs.

Additional requirements of the WRAP code include the compliance with environmental rules, regulations and standards as well as the compliance with customs laws especially regarding illegal transshipment of sewn products. Another point is to maintain facility security procedures to guard against the introduction of non-manifested cargo into outbound shipment (i.e. drugs, explosives, biohazards and/or other contraband). After 9/11, the United

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

States increased their security requirements and made it mandatory for the garment suppliers to abide by some specific requirements in order to export to the USA.

Fair Labor Association (FLA)

The FLA developed from the Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP), an initiative established by USA President, Bill Clinton, in 1996 to address social standards in the apparel industry. In addition to renowned international brands, participating organizations include about 190 USA based colleges and universities. Organizations accredited by FLA act as monitors and audit adherence to the FLA codes. The FLA codes cover the entire supply chain of garments including contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and licensees.

The FLA does not have a certification process for factories. But FLA does certify brands and retailers. The audit reports are made public.

The FLA Code covers all international labor standards but does not refer directly to the ILO conventions. It is based on national legislation and in case of difference between the FLA code and the national legislation, the higher standard applies. There are no special requirements in addition to the common standards.

Fair Wear Foundation (FWF)

The FWF is a Netherlands based organization founded in 1999. The member companies produce mainly for the Dutch market but recently it has broaden the scope to include the European market as well. The member companies are responsible for the implementation of the code requirements in their own company as well as for their whole supply chain of garments including suppliers, subcontractors and licensees. The FWF member companies are responsible for internal verification and FWF performs external verification through random checks.

The FWF is not a certification body. It verifies that member companies are correctly implementing the code of conduct. The FWF audit results are made public.

The FWF code refers explicitly to ILO conventions and the Universal Declaration on Human Rights but also to the national legislation and regulations. Compliance requirements include all common labor standards. Additional requirements are the implementation of a management system and the implementation of effective regulations to prevent accidents and minimize health risks. Compared to the other codes, the FWF is stricter with the minimum age requirement. The FWF requires that worker should be at a minimum age of 15 years before she/he starts to work.

Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers Rights (JO-IN)

The JO-IN code was developed to address the “battle of the codes”, that is, which code prevails. Due to the existence of multiple general codes of conduct, the buyers’ individual codes and the national legislation of the manufacturing country, suppliers are exposed to numerous audits per year. To streamline this process, it was decided that maybe having one common code, which meets majority of the requirements of the all other codes, would be a possible solution to this problem.

JO-IN is a joint project of six organizations involved in improving working conditions in the global supply chain. Members involved include Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), Fair Wear Foundation (FWF), Fair Labor Association (FLA), Social Accountability International (SAI) and Workers Rights Consortium (WRC). Seven multinational buyers joined the initiative in order to conduct the trial project in Turkey and test what practices can deliver improvements for the workers in the Turkish supply factories. A draft JO-IN Code of Labor Practice has been agreed and approved and the project is expected to run until the end of 2007.

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

The JO-IN code refers explicitly to ILO conventions, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the UN Conventions on the Rights of the Child and the UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

The JO-IN code has special emphasis on three priority areas since these are considered to be the focal areas in the garment sector. The areas are:

i. Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining ii. Wages iii. Hours of work

The code addresses the whole supply chain of garment products and is a combination of all codes of the participating organizations. Therefore it covers all common labor standards. Additional requirements are the setting up of systems to detect avoid or respond to potential threats to the health and safety of all personnel as well as the formation of a safety and health cooperation committee with worker representative participation.

Similar to the FWF, the JO-IN Code is stricter with the minimum age requirement. It requires that worker should be at a minimum age of 15 years before she/he starts to work, even if the national legislation states that 14 years of age is acceptable.

JO-IN does not have a certification process and the audit results are not made public.

6 Practical problems of implementation

Codes of conducts are just regulations and need to be enforced effectively to ensure social compliance. After implementing the codes, effective monitoring mechanisms should be in place to ensure that the standards are maintained. These rules also apply to the national labor law. Unless enforced and monitored properly, the law does not serve its purpose.

Proper implementation and monitoring of the labor law and codes is extremely challenging. In order to ensure effective results, most buyers reply on their own codes of conduct rather than the labor law. Although, it should be noted that in every country, the law of the land prevails. But at times, the requirements of the codes are higher than the national labor laws and then, whatever standard is highly prevails. These issues are clearly stated in all codes of conduct.

The buyers’ preferences to their own codes of conduct becomes challenging for the suppliers. One supplier usually has more than one buyer. If each buyer has a different set of requirements, it becomes difficult for the suppliers to implement all the requirements simultaneously. Also, as a monitoring measure, the supplier has to undergo several audits per year for each buyer.

The small and medium size factories which usually include the subcontractors specially need support regarding compliance to codes. The direct suppliers are better equipped to comply with codes whereas subcontractors find it more challenging from both a financial perspective as well as lack of knowledge regarding implementation. The costs associated with implementation and maintenance of compliance standards is pretty high and at times, factories find it difficult to sustain themselves in such environments. The trend shows that in the last few years the CM prices have a downward trend hence buyers should consider the aspects of sustainable pricing so that their suppliers can comply with their requirements.

Also, suppliers should be aware that compliance to the national labor law is mandatory. Hence to stay in business legally, they must abide by the law. Full compliance to the labor law helps the suppliers to become compliant to general and specific buyers’ codes of conduct. The comparison matrix clearly shows that if the suppliers comply 100% with the national labor law, then they tentatively cover 85% to 90% of the leading general codes of conduct. The buyers’ codes of conduct are not that different from the general codes of

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

conduct. Hence suppliers should aim to comply by the national labor law and then maybe by just adding a few more aspects, they can also fully comply with their specific buyers’ codes or the general codes of conduct.

The government encounters several hurdles when monitoring the implementation of the national labor law mainly due to resource constraints. Currently, the government only has 53 factory inspectors who are responsible for all sectors. There are no specific inspectors assigned for the RMG sector. Fortunately, both the business associations have strong, in- house social compliance monitoring teams who compliment the work of the government factory inspectors and carry out inspections at the member factories of the respective associations. However, social compliance monitoring data from the associations is often criticized regarding its authenticity. Hence, nowadays, especially in monitoring the implementation of the points in the tripartite MoU, the government and associations have teamed up to do joint inspections. This results in optimal use of resources and also provides neutral data.

Compliance to the national law and codes of conduct is a tedious and long term process. However, there are a lot of tools and expertise available through business associations and other service provider which facilitate the suppliers to become compliant. Suppliers should take advantage of the available resources and start the process so that they can continue their business in a competitive environment.

7 Conclusion

Our aim through piece of research was to highlight the importance of the revised national labor law in Bangladesh and how it meets majority of the requirements of the leading general codes of conduct. The comparison study provides a succinct matrix which illustrates the commonalities as well as the difference between the revised Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and the seven leading general codes of conduct. Suppliers must comply with the national labor law to do business in Bangladesh. Simultaneously, they must comply with their buyers’ codes of conduct to supply to their customers. The endless compliance requirements become extremely challenging for the suppliers, both in terms of costs as well as implementation. Numerous audits are also a challenge which suppliers are encountering. It is extremely difficult to have different setups on the same factory floor because of the minor differences in the national labor law as well as among the different buyers’ codes of conducts. In order to avoid numerous audits, many buyers are now accepting the audits done by the general codes of conduct. For example, if a factory is SA8000 certified or passes a BSCI audit the some buyers may forego their own audits. This does simply the process of numerous audits.

Out of the seven leading general codes of conduct covered in this research, only two have a formal certification procedure, SAI and WRAP. Certifications to the leading codes of conduct may act as a competitive advantage for suppliers. However, here are significant amount of costs associated with obtaining and maintaining these certifications. So, not all factories can sustain these costs. The FLA does not certify individual factories but they certify brands and retailers.

Compliance to international codes and standards is an extremely vital tool to build on the image of the Bangladeshi RMG sector. Since the 1970s, Bangladesh has been one of the main sourcing destinations for the major international brands, retailers and buyers. The industry thrived in the last three decades primarily by taking advantage of the trade quotas that were in place in the global textile and apparel industry. Also, low labor costs have always been one of the competitive advantages for Bangladesh garments in the global sourcing market. The Bangladesh RMG sector has always had a “sweatshop” image which still prevails although there have been drastic improvements in working conditions at the factories. Currently, Bangladesh has many world class factories which are 100% compliant and which can compete with any leading factory across the globe.

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A comparative analysis between the Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 and seven general codes of conduct

There are approximately 4,500 RMG factories in Bangladesh and only a certain fraction fall into the world class category. The other factories must strive to improve their compliance status so that the overall image of the Bangladeshi industry is improved. By simply complying with the national labor law, all factories can cover majority of the international requirements.

The Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 is a strong piece of legislation which covers majority of the international standards. By complying with this law, suppliers are only a few steps away from achieving the international standards. Suppliers should capitalize on this point. As mentioned above, the government and associations have many tools to assist suppliers in improving their compliance status. Strong monitoring procedures are also in place to assist the suppliers in maintaining their compliance status.

In the quota free apparels market, Bangladesh must compete with all the major players to sustain its existing share as well as expand into new territories. Compliance is a key requirement for all global buyers hence Bangladeshi suppliers must equip themselves with these tools and continue the successful legacy of this dynamic industry.

.

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Annex I - Classification of general codes of conduct

Annexures

Annex I: Classification of general codes of conduct

CompleteName||||||||
|Social AccountabilityInt. (SA8000)|Ethical TradingInitiative (ETI)|Fair Labor Association(FLA)|Fair Wear Foundation(FWF)|Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)|Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP)|Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability andWorkers’ Rights (JO- IN)|
Website|www.sa-intl.org[->4]|www.ethicaltrade.org[->5]|www.fairlabor.org[->6]|www.fairwear.nl[->7]|www.bsci-eu.org[->8]|www.wrapapparel.org[->9]|www.JO-IN.org[->10]|
Initiative/ Yearof Foundation|US-American consumer organization CEP 1997|Various NGOs 1998|Grew out of the ApparelIndustry Partnership (AIP), an initiative of US President Clinton in 1996.|Dutch CCC and FNV 1999|2003 (emerged from AVE)|American ApparelManufactures Association (now American Apparel and Footwear Association) 1998|Joint initiative of CCC, ETI, FLA, FWF, SAI, WRC.Working on a pilot project inTurkey since 2003|
Members andStakeholders|11 companies,2 trade unions,7 NGOs|39 Companies,4 trade unions,17 NGOs|22 Apparel and footwear companies,194 Colleges/universities33 NGO's|37 Companies,2 Associations,2 trade unions,4 NGOs|78 retail and trade companies,4 associations|Participating Organizations are 20 apparel associations around the world|6 international organizations7 multinational buyers and facilities in Turkey producing for these buyers Trade unionsNGOsIndustry and employer associations|
RegionalDistribution of members|Mainly US and Europe|Companies exporting to theUK|Mainly US and Europe|Primarily intended for theDutch market. Also EU|Mainly Europe|Mainly US, South America. Also in Asia and Africa|Pilot project in Turkey with7 international buyers exporting to Europe ad US|
Reach|Emphasis on factory/farm/facility, but also recommendations forsupply chain industry wide|The whole supply chain of garment, food and horticulture products including contractors, subcontractors, suppliersand licensees|The whole supply chain of garment products including contractors, subcontractors, suppliers and licensees,with the exception of“minimal” facilities (short- term suppliers and small volumes)|The whole supply chain of garment products including suppliers, sub-contracted suppliers, licensees and sub-contracted supplier tolicensees|Whole supply chain of consumer goods.Suppliers must ensure that the code of conduct is also observed by allsubcontractors involved in the production processes of final manufacturing stages, for example confection and assembly activities, carried out on behalf of BSCI members.|All sewn product manufacturing facilities anywhere in the world, including direct sewn product production facilities,independent sewn product manufacturing suppliers, licensees, and subcontractors|Whole supply chain of garment products|

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Annex I - Classification of general codes of conduct

CompleteName|Social AccountabilityInt. (SA8000)|Ethical TradingInitiative (ETI)|Fair Labor Association(FLA)|Fair Wear Foundation(FWF)|Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)|Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP)|Joint Initiative onCorporateAccountability and Workers’ Rights (JO- IN)|
InternalStructure|Head Quarter based inNew YorkBoard of Directors: 2NGOs, 1 lawyer, 1 consultant, 2 businessmen,1 president Advisory Board: NGO's, 2 unions, 11 companies. Both have equal representation between business and nonbusinessrepresentatives. Meets 3 times a year.Every year SAI holds an international conference (around 150 participants)|Head Quarter based inLondonBoard: 9 voting directors (corporate, trade union and NGO) and one non-voting director from DFID; meets 4 times a year4 caucus groups: trade union, NGO, food and general merchandise caucus, meet 4 times ayeardifferent working groups for projectsevery two years ETI holds an international conference for all stakeholders Roundtables for members (4-8 a year)|Head Quarter based inWashingtonBoard of Directorsis composed by representatives of 6 companies, 6 NGOs, 3 universities as well as the chair|Head Quarter based inAmsterdam Board: comprises Organizations representing the garment suppliers, the garment retailers, trade unions, NGOs. Each with equal voting rights. Committee of Experts from the above mentioned groups supports staff and board|Head Quarter based inBrusselsGoverned by a Members Board consisting of all regular and associated members, Representative Committee, Advisory Council, Secretariat (provided by Foreign Trade Association FTA)|Head Quarter based inArlingtonBoard of 3 officers and 8 directors from the independent Certification Board. Primarily industry representatives|Offices in Istanbul, Turkey and London, UK International Steering committeeconsisting ofrepresentatives of the 6 organizations and an independent Chair (Meet twice a year)One International Project Manager and one Local Coordinator|
Certification|SA8000 certification means that a facility has been examined in accordance with SAI auditingprocedures and found to be in conformance. Auditors look for evidence ofeffective management systems and performance that proves compliance. SA8000 certificate is validfor 3 years. Surveillances audits every 6 months|ETI do not issue ethical trade certificates or labels to any company. Members are encouraged toimplement the ETI BaseCode.Member companies committed to implementation, monitoring and verification of ETI Base Code|FLA certifies an entire brand, not factories. The service mark (Fair Labor Association AccreditedCompliance Program) can be used by companies that have met the standards of compliance|FWF is not a certification body.FWF verifies that companies implement thecode of labor practices correctly|No certification. Qualification means that a factory is compliant with BSCI requirements. Bestpractice is SA8000|A new three level certification program has been introduced in October2006. Depending on thelevel of compliance and improvement a factory can receive A,B or C level certificates|Voluntary code of conductNo certification|

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Annex I - Classification of general codes of conduct

CompleteName|Social AccountabilityInt. (SA8000)|Ethical TradingInitiative (ETI)|Fair Labor Association(FLA)|Fair Wear Foundation(FWF)|Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)|Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP)|Joint Initiative onCorporateAccountability and Workers’ Rights (JO- IN)|
Monitoring|Factory/farm/facility certification. 10 SAI accredited Audit companies verify producers accordingto the guidance document (consultations with NGO's and unions). NGO auditors are also possible. There are pre-audits, certification and several verification/ surveillance audits|Multistakeholder learning forum on monitoring and verificationexperimental and researchprojectsprinciple of continuous improvements Experimental projects in cooperation with local stakeholders|Process companies must conduct internal monitoring of at least one half of their applicable facilities duringthe first year, and all of their facilities during the second year. Companies commit to use independent external monitors accredited and selected by the FLA to conduct Periodicinspections of at least 30% of their facilities during their Initial 3 year participating period. Factories are selected by FLA staff, witha focus on the largest andthose with greatest risk of noncompliance. All monitoring must involve consulting local NGOs. Monitors will use a combination of announced and unannounced visits. Timely remediation, assessed by monitors and FLA staff, is required for certification|Annual monitoring, in 1st year 40%, in 2nd year 60%, in 3rd year 100% of supply base. Verification of 10%of each member company's supplier facilities everythree years.Process of verifying improvements.FWF verification in cooperation with networks of partner organizations in producing countries.|Trading company or agent has the duty to monitor their subcontracting factories. Factory is required tomonitor their subcontracting units. Factories are recommended to make self assessment on its own unit as well as their subcontractors prior to auditing. Audit will be basedon BSCI Audit Questionnaire and carried out by accredited SAI auditors. For noncompliance subjects an action plan will be issuedwith time frame for correction. When successful passing the audit, the factory will be qualified for a period of 3 years|Factories must undergo a 3 step process: self assessment, independent monitoring, final review andfollow up. Factories contract and schedule selected independent monitors to perform onsite evaluation. The independent monitor will either recommend that thefacility be certified or identify areas where corrective action must be taken before such a recommendation can be made. Factories self selectfor certification|Contacting/consulting with factory management, NGOs, trade unions, bands representatives, TurkishLabor and Social SecurityDepartmentFactory visits, off-site worker interviews, options for confidential worker feedback/communication Trial activities:Baseline Assessment of supplier facilitiesAnalysis and remediation planFollow-up and assessment|
Disclosure ofAudit Findings|The public is informed onlyof factories granted certification.Audit reports go to the companies and to SAI. Other parties can only receive them after having signed a confidentiality agreement with the company management and the audit company|Annual reports of thecompanies to ETI.ETI publishes an annual report that summarizes progress|Internal monitoring andindependent verification reports go to the FLA staff. Annual public reports by the FLA about every participating company, university and its licensees. Public information on monitored/verified factories.|Member companies mustpublish annual reports and communicate a supplier register to the FWF.FWF publishes annual verification reports.|Audit results will be placedin BSCI data bank which can only be accessed by BSCI member companies. Audit results are provided to respective retailers and factories|No public reporting. Nomention of sites that receive, fail or lose certification. Audit reports are provided to factories and the WRAP board.At the website you can find a database with factories. But only if the one agreed to be mentioned there.|Individual reports for eachfacility on the results of the baseline assessment, proposed remediation plan and follow-up assessment JO-IN synthesis report (of individual facility reports) Final project report of good practice, learning and recommendationsNames of the factories will remain confidential, participating factories will be given nominal codes in JO-IN reports|

17

Annex I - Classification of general codes of conduct

CompleteName|Social AccountabilityInt. (SA8000)|Ethical TradingInitiative (ETI)|Fair Labor Association(FLA)|Fair Wear Foundation(FWF)|Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)|Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP)|Joint Initiative onCorporateAccountability and Workers’ Rights (JO- IN)|
ComplaintsProcedure|Complaints/ appeals can go to: the management of the factory, the certifying body, the accreditationagency. Each of them being able to initiate corrective action. Objections are being dealt with by the higherlevel bodies|Complaints /Appeals go to ETI which then initiates corrective action in a process of continuousimprovement|Third party complaints go toFLA whichthen informs those whofiled the complaints/appeals about the outcome of corrective action.Also possible: complaints go directly to brand companies.|Complaints go to the FWF which calls on companies to take corrective action. FWF oversees theimplementation of remediation and informs the parties concerned|When a violation of the code of conduct is determined, BSCI members will immediately enter intonegotiations with the affected suppliers. Together, they will search for solutions and the BSCI members will assist in resolving the problem. The solutions must always takeinto consideration the bestInterests of the employees. If suitable solution cannot be found, agreed upon and implemented within a reasonable period of time, this may lead to the termination of further business relations.|No complaints procedure|The project will focus on the effective resolution of complaints in respect of the particular workplacestandardsOne aim is to identify good practice|
Funding/Costs|Company membershipfees; training; Auditor accreditation fees; foundation grants|Membership fees, grantfrom the Department forInternational Development|Company membershipfees; university membership fees; foundation grants|Financed by means of anagreement between Dutch employers and employees. Employees pay a small amount to the foundation, which is doubled by the employers. Membership fee, fund from development organizations and unions|Company membership feeand funds from governments/ European Union|No detailed Informationavailable, other than registration fee|The project has receivedfunding from EC, US State Department, ICCO (Interchurch Organisation for Development Co- operation) as well as some funding from two of the brands involved in the project|
Examples|Tchibo, Otto Group, Gap,Toys R Us, Dole|Mothercare, La-Senja,Decathlon Marks&Spencer, Tesco|Liz Claiborne, Inc., Nike,PVH, Puma|Falcon, Gsus, Mexx|Otto Group, Esprit, Cotton-Group, V&D, M&S Mode, Metro|S Sara Lee, Jockey,Russell, VF Corporation|Adidas, Gap, Inc., Puma|

18

Annex II: Detailed comparison of the Bangladesh Labor Law and seven General Codes of Conduct

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law 2006|Social AccountabilityInt. SA 8000 (SAI)|Ethical TradingInitiative (ETI)|Fair LaborAssociation (FLA)|Fair WearFoundation (FWF)|
||||||
Child Labor|Minimum age:Exception:|• 144• Child attaining 12-year age may be employed if the work is not dangerous for his health& development and does not hamper education|• Minimum age 15; or 14 if meets developing country exemption; or local minimum age if higher|• Minimum age 15; or 14 in accordance with developing country exception under ILO Convention 138; or local minimum age if higher• Adequate transitional and economic assistance provided to any replaced child workers|• Minimum age 15; or 14 if country of manufacture allows; or age for completing compulsory education.|• Minimum age 15 orabove compulsory school age• No forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking ofchildren, debt bondage and serfdom and forcedor compulsory labor.|
|Restriction of appointment of adolescent in certain work|• Cleaning, lubrication or for other adjustment operation of the machinery while it is in motion• Any work in between the moving parts of a machine• Any work in under ground or under water|• Not expose children or young workers to situations that are hazardous, unsafe, or unhealthy|• Children and young people under 18 not employed in hazardous conditions||• Children and young people under 18 not employed in hazardous conditions|
Forced Labor|Labor LawConstitution:Remark:|Not mentionedAll forms of forced labor are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be anoffence punishable in accordance with lawThis constitutional guidelineis still ignored in the new Labor Law as the Law didn’t defined the word forced labor in it and didn’t provide for the punishment and procedure thereof.|• Not engage in or support the use of forced labor• Personnel shall not be required to lodge ‘deposits’ or identity papers upon commencing employmentwith the company|• Employment is freely chosen. No forced, bonded or involuntary prison labor.• Workers shall not be required to lodge “deposits" or their identity papers with employer and are free to leave employer with reasonable notice.|• No use of forced labor, prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor or otherwise|• Employment is freely chosen;• No use of forced, including bonded or prison, labor.|

4 The ILO Convention 138 concerning Minimum Age (http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C138)[->11] is not yet ratified

Standard |Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 |SAI |ETI |FLA |FWF |
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining|Constitution:|Article 38 states: “Every citizen shall have the right to form associations orunions, subject to any responsible restrictions imposed by law in the interests of morality or public order”.|• Recognize & respect right of all workers to form or join trade unions of their choice and to bargain collectively• Workers’ representatives not discriminated against and have access to carry out functions in workplace.|• Workers without distinction have right to join trade union of own choosing and bargain collectively.• Employers adopt an open attitude toactivities of trade unionsand their organizational activities. Workers’ representatives not discriminated against and have access to carry out functions in workplace.• Where right restricted by law, employer facilitates, and does not hinder, development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining.|• Recognize right of workers to join trade union and bargain collectively• Where the right is restricted by law, employer should not seek state assistance to prevent workers exercising right to free association and bargaining|• Recognize right of workers to join trade union and bargain collectively• Workers’ representatives not discriminated against and have access to carry out functions in workplace• Where right restricted by law, employer facilitates, and does not hinder, development of parallel means for independent and free association and bargaining.|
|Trade unions and freedom of association|1. workers without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the Rules of the organization concerned, to join associations of their own choosing without previous authorization;2. employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right toestablish and subject only to the Rules of the organization concerned, to joinassociations of their own choosing without previous authorization;3. trade unions and employers’associations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programs;4. workers’ and employers’organizations shall have the right to establish and join federations and confederations and any such organization, federations or confederation shall have the right to affiliate with international organizations and confederations of workers’ and employers’ organizations.|||||
|Collective bargaining agent|Where there is only one registered trade union in an establishment or a group of establishments, that trade union shall, if it has as its members not less than one- third of the total number of workmenemployed in such establishment or group of establishments, be deemed to be collective bargaining agent for such establishments or group.|||||

Standard |Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 |SAI |ETI |FLA |FWF |
Discrimination|Constitution:Labor law:|Constitution of BangladeshArticle 28:1 The State shall not discriminate against anycitizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex orplace of birth.2) Women shall have equal rights with men in all spheres of the State andpublic life.In determination of the wages for a worker or in fixation of the minimum wages equality irrespective of the sex of the worker, shall be maintained. No discrimination in this regard shall be tolerated by law.|• No discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union membership, or political affiliation or age• No interference with the exercise of the rights of workers to observe tenets or practices, or to meet needs relating to all of the above criteriaNot allow behavior, including gestures, language and physical contact, that is sexually coercive, threatening, abusive or exploitative.|• No discrimination in hiring, compensation, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on race, caste, national origin, religion, age, disability, gender, marital status, sexual orientation,union membership or political affiliation.|• No discrimination in hiring, salary, benefits, advancement, discipline, termination or retirement, on basis of gender, race, religion, age, disability, sexualorientation, nationality, political opinion,or social or ethnic origin|• Recruitment, wage policy, admittance to training programs, employee promotion policy, policies of employment termination, retirement, and any other aspect of the employment relationship shall bebased on the principle of equal opportunities,regardless of race, color, sex, religion, political affiliation, unionmembership, nationality, social origin, deficiencies, or handicaps.|
Harassment andAbuse|Constitution:Labor Law:|Harassment and abuse is prohibitedWhere any female worker is employed in any work of the establishment, irrespective of her rank or status, no one of that establishment shall behave with the female worker which may seen to be incentor repugnant to the modesty or honor of the female worker.|• No corporate punishment, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse. No sexually coercive or exploitative behavior|• Physical abuse or discipline, threat of physical abuse, sexual or other harassment and verbal abuse or other forms of intimidation prohibited.|• No employees shall be subject to any physical, sexual, psychological or verbal harassment or abuse.|• Physical abuse, threats of physical abuse, unusual punishments or discipline, sexual and other harassment, and intimidation by the employer is strictly prohibited.|
Compensation and Benefits|Minimum wage:|Minimum wage is paid|• Wages shall always comply with all applicable laws, regulations and industry minimum standards and• shall be sufficient to meet basic needs of workers and their families and provide some discretionary income.|• Living wage is paid;• Local minimum, national legal standards or industry benchmark standards whichever is higher|• Legal or prevailing industry wage, and• meets basic needs and provides discretionary income.|• Wages shall always comply with all applicable laws, regulations and industry minimum standards and• shall be sufficient to meet basic needs of workers and their families and provide some discretionary income|
|Overtime:|shall be compensated with thedouble of the basic wage|Overtime shall be compensated at apremium rate|Overtime shall be compensatedat premium pay||Overtime shall becompensated at premium pay|
|OtherCompensation|• for injury or death from accidents• for discharge & laid off workers|||||
|Deductions:|No deductions for reasons notprovided by the law|• No deductions as disciplinary measure or for reasons not provided by national law except with permission of worker|• No deductions as disciplinary measure or for reasons not provided by national law except with permission of worker; Disciplinarymeasures recorded||• No deductions as disciplinary measure or for reasons not provided by national law exceptwith permission of worker|

Standard |Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 |SAI |ETI |FLA |FWF |
Compensation and Benefits|Payment:|Wages paid on a regular and timely basis|• Wages paid on a regular and timely basis.• Workers provided with information about wages before entering into employment and about particulars of wages each time paid.|• Workers provided with information about wages before enter into employment and about particulars of wages each time paid||• Adequately and clearly inform employees about the specifications of their wages including wage rates and pay period|
Working Hours|Maximum hours:|48/week - 8/day|• 48/week|• 48/week• Comply with national laws and benchmark industry standards, whichever offers greater protection|• 48/week• except in extraordinary business circumstances|• 48/week• Hours of work shall comply with applicable laws and industry standards|
|Overtime:|12/week - 2/day|• 12/week• overtime voluntary• not demanded on regular basis|• 12/week• Overtime voluntary• not demanded on regular basis|• 12/week or the limits on regular and overtime hours allowed by the national law or benchmark industry standards|• 12/week• Overtime voluntary• not demanded on regular basis|
Leave|Leave andholidays:|Weekly: 1 day off|• 1 day off in 7|• 1 day off in 7|• 1 day off in 7|• 1 day off in 7|
||Annual leave: 1 day for every18 days of work performed during previous period of 12 months|||||
||Festival Holidays: 11|||||
||Casual leave: 10 days with full payment|||||
||Sick leave: 14 days with full payment|||||
Health andSafety|Health:|Healthy working environment|• Access to clean facilities and potable water, and if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage.• Safe and hygienic working environment– knowledge of industry and specific hazards• Take adequate steps to prevent accidents and injury, by minimizing the causes of hazards• Responsibility for heath and safety assigned to senior management representative• Establish systems to detect, Avoid or respond to potential threats to the health and safety• Accommodation, where provided, meets basic needs of workers|• Safe and hygienic working environment; knowledge of industry and specific hazards• Access to clean facilities and potable water, and if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage• Accommodation, where provided, meet basic needs of workers• Responsibility for heath and safety assigned to senior management representative|• Safe and healthy working environment required• Standard also applies to employer operated facilities part from production facilities (e.g. housing)• Take adequate steps to prevent accidents and injury, by minimizing the causes of hazards|• Safe and hygienic working environment• Promote best occupational health and safety – knowledge of industry and specific hazards• Effective regulations shall be implemented to prevent accidents and minimize health risks as much as possible|
||Access to clean facilities and potable water|||||
||provision of dustbins and spittoons|||||
||First Aid Appliances|||||
||Medical Facilities|||||
|WorkplaceConditions|Space|||||
||Temperature|||||
||Ventilation|||||
||Noise|||||
||Light|||||
|Safety:|Safety of building|||||
||Safety of machinery|||||
||Gates/Stairs|||||
||Emergency Exits|||||
||Fire extinguisher|||||
||Personal protective equipment|||||

Standard |Bangladesh Labor Law 2006 |SAI |ETI |FLA |FWF |
|Welfare:|First aid appliances|||||
||Toilets and washing facilities|||||
||Where > 100 workers - canteen|||||
||Where > 50 workers - Rest room|||||
||Where > 40 female workers employed - child crèches/daycare|||||
|Training|• Where > 10 workers areemployed other than in the ground floor, there shall be a training forall the workers about the means of escape in case fire.• There shall be a parade of fire extinction and escape at least once a year in a factory where more than fifty workers are employed.|• all workers shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training|• Workers receive regular and recorded healthand safety training|||
Environment|Disposal of waste and effluents|Every establishment shall have the proper arrangement to remove the wastes created from the process ofmanufacturing.|N.A|N.A|N.A|N.A|
Women’sRights|Maternity leave:|• 16 weeks (8 weeks before and 8 weeks after delivery)• No woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit unless she has been employed by the employer for a period of six monthimmediately proceeding the day of delivery|N.A.|N.A.|N.A.|N.A.|
|prohibition of employing women workers in certain works|• cleaning and running machines, work with dangerous machineries unless they are sufficiently trained, work under ground or under water|||||
|Restricted working hours:|• without consent no work between10PM-6AM|||||
Management systems|N.A.|• Facilities seeking to gain and maintain certification must go beyond simple compliance to integrate the standard into theirmanagement systems and practices.• Top management shall define the company’s policy for social accountability and labor conditions which will be documented and publicly available.|N.A|N.A|• Member companies should implement a management system to ensure the implementation of the working code|

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law2006|SAI|ETI|FLA|FWF|
EmploymentRelationship|• Employer shall provide employment contract and Identity card with photo to every employee• Appointment Letter and Identity Card; Service Book; register of workers|• Not avoid obligations under law through use of labor-only Contracting or false apprenticeship schemes|• Work should be performed on basis of recognized employment relationship established through law and national practice.• Not avoid obligations under law through use of labor-only contracting, subcontracting or home-working arrangements or apprenticeship schemes|N.A|• Not avoid obligations under law through use of labor-only contracting arrangements or apprenticeship schemes.• Give opportunity to younger workers to participate in education and training programs.|
Others||||||
Qualifiers|• Compliance with all applicable national laws and regulations|• When national and other applicable law, other requirements to which the company subscribes, and this standard address the same issue, that provision which is most stringent applies.|• Provisions constitute minimum and not maximum standards.• Companies expected to comply with national law, and /or apply provision that affords greater protection.|• Companies should apply the higher standard (the Code of conduct or the applicable law of country) in case of difference or conflict.|NA|

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law 2006|Business SocialCompliance Initiative (BSCI)|Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP)|Joint Initiative on Corporate Accountability and Workers’ Rights (JO- IN)|
|||||
Child Labor|Minimum age:Exception:|• 145• Child attaining 12-year age may be employed if the work is not dangerous for his health & development and does not hamper education|• Minimum age as defined by ILO and United Nations Conventions and/or by national law, the most stringent shall be followed.• Adequate assistance provided to any replaced child workers• No forms of exploitation of children or working conditions resembling slavery or harmful to children's health|• Minimum age 14, or under the age interfering with compulsory schooling, or under the minimum age established by law, whichever is greater|• Minimum age 15 or above compulsory school age• Adequate transitional and economic assistance provided to any replaced child Workers|
|Restriction of appointment of adolescent in certain work|• Cleaning, lubrication or for other adjustment operation of the machinery while it is in motion• Any work in between the moving parts of a machine• Any work in under ground or under water|• Rights of young workers must be protected• Young workers shall not be exposed to hazardous, unsafe or unhealthy situations|N.A.|• Not expose young workers under18 to situations likely to jeopardize their health, safety or morals, including night work|
ForcedLabor|Labor Law:Constitution:Remark:|Not mentionedAll forms of forced labor are prohibited and any contravention of this provision shall be an offence punishable in accordance with lawThis constitutional guideline is still ignored in the new Labor Law as the Law didn’t defined the word forced labor in it and didn’t provide for the punishment and procedure thereof|• No use of forced or prisoner labor• Workers shall not be required to lodge 'deposits' or identity documents with their employer|• No use of forced labor – indentured, bonded or otherwise|• No use of forced labor, including involuntary prison, indentured or bonded labor• Workers shall not be required to lodge ‘deposits’ or identity papers with their employer and shall be free to terminate their employment after reasonable notice• No restrictions on freedom of movement (from factory or employer controlled residences) of workers|

5 The ILO Convention 138 concerning Minimum Age (http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C[->12]138) is not yet ratified

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law 2006|BSCI|WRAP|JO-IN|
Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining|Constitution:Trade unions and freedom of associationCollective bargaining agent|Article 38 states: “Every citizen shall havethe right to form associations or unions, subject to any responsible restrictions imposed by law in the interests of morality or public order”.1. workers without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and, subject only to the Rules of the organization concerned, to join associations of their own choosing without previous authorization;2. employers, without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and subject only to the Rules of the organization concerned, to join associations of their own choosing without previous authorization;3. trade unions and employers’ associations shall have the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their representatives in full freedom, to organize their administration and activities and to formulate their programs4. workers’ and employers’ organizations shall have the right to establish and joinfederations and confederations and any such organization, federations orconfederation shall have the right to affiliate with international organizations and confederations of workers’ andemployers’ organizations.Where there is only one registered trade union in an establishment or a group of establishments, that trade union shall, if it has as its members not less than one- third of the total number of workmen employed in such establishment or group of establishments, be deemed to be collective bargaining agent for such establishments or group.|• Respect right of all workers to form or join trade unions of their choice and to bargain collectively• Workers’ representatives have access to carry out functions in workplace.• Where right is restricted by law, employer facilities, parallel means for free association and bargaining.|• Recognize & respect the right of employees to exercise their lawful rights of free association and collective bargaining|• Recognize & respect right of all workers to form or join trade unions of their choice and to bargain collectively• Recognize the trade union(s) of the workers’ choice• Adoption of a positive approach towards the activities of trade unions and organizational activities of workers• Workers’ representatives not discriminated against and have access to carry out functions in workplace|

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law 2006|BSCI|WRAP|JO-IN|
Discrimination|Constitution:Labor law:|Constitution of Bangladesh Article28:1) The State shall not discriminate against any citizen ongrounds only of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.2) Women shallhave equal rights with men in all spheres of the State and public life.In determination of the wages for a worker or in fixation of the minimum wages equality irrespective of the sex of the worker, shall be maintained. No discrimination in this regard shall be tolerated by law.|• No discrimination in hiring, remuneration, access to training, promotion, termination or retirement based on gender, age, religion, race, caste, social background, disability, ethnic and national origin, nationality, membership in workers’ organizations including unions, political affiliation, sexual orientation, or any other personal characteristics.|• Employ, pay, promote, and terminate workers on the basis of their ability to do the job, rather than on the basis of personal characteristicsor beliefs.|• No discrimination in hiring, remuneration, access to training, promotion, discipline, termination of employment or retirement based on race, color, sex, religion, political opinion or affiliation, national extraction or social origin, caste, marital status, sexual orientation, trade union membership, disability or age.• No interference with the exercise of the rights of workers to observe tenets or practices, or to meet needs relating to all of the above criteria.|
Harassment and Abuse|Constitution:Labor Law:|Harassment and abuse are prohibitedWhere any female worker is employed in any work of the establishment, irrespective of her rank or status, no one of that establishment shall behave with the female worker which may seen to be incent or repugnant to the modesty or honor of the female worker.|• The use of corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion and verbal abuse is forbidden.|• No harassment, abuse or corporal punishment in any form|• Every worker treated with dignity and respect.• Not engage in or support the use of corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion, threats of physical abuse, unusual punishment or discipline, sexual or other harassment, intimidation and verbal abuse.|
Compensation and Benefits|Minimum wage:|Minimum wage is paid|• Wages shall meet or exceed legal minimums and/or industry standards;• BSCI refers to a real 'living wage' supplier companies are further encouraged to provide their employees with adequate compensation to meet these needs;• wages and benefits are in full compliance with all applicable laws|• Wages shall meet at least the minimum total compensation required by local law, including all mandated wages, allowances and benefits|• Workers shall have the right to a living wage;• Wages shall always comply with all applicable laws, regulations and industry minimum standards and• shall be sufficient to meet basic needs of workers and their families and provide some discretionary income.|
|Overtime|shall be compensated with the double of the basic wage|• Overtime shall be paid at a premium rate|N.A.|• compensated at premium pay (if not defined, then at least one and one half of their regular hourly compensation rate)|
|OtherCompensation:|• for injury or death from accidents• for discharge & laid off workers||||
|Deductions:|No deductions for reasons not provided by the law|• Deductions from wages as a disciplinary measure are forbidden||• No deductions as disciplinary measure or for reasons not provided by national law except with permission of worker|
|Payment:|Wages paid on a regular and timely basis|• Wage and benefits composition are detailed clearly and regularly for workers;• remuneration is rendered in a manner convenient to workers||• Wages paid on a regular and timely basis;• Remuneration either in cash or check form, in a manner convenient to workers;• Workers provided with information about wages before entering into employment and about particulars of wages each time paid|

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law 2006|BSCI|WRAP|JO-IN|
Working Hours|Maximumhours:|48/week - 8/day|• 48/week• Hours of work shall comply with national laws and industry standards|• Hours worked shall comply with national law|• 48/week• Comply with national laws and benchmark industry standards, whichever offers greater protection|
|Overtime:|12/week - 2/day|• 12/week• Overtime hours are voluntary|N.A.|• 12/week• Overtime voluntary, not demanded on regular basis|
Leave|Leave and holidays:|Weekly: 1 day off|ƒ 1 day off in 7|ƒ 1 day off in 7ƒ except as required to meeturgent business needs|ƒ 1 day off in 7|
||Annual leave: 1 day for every 18 days of work performed during previous period of 12 months||||
||Festival Holidays: 11||||
||Casual leave: 10 days with full payment||||
||Sick leave: 14 days with full payment||||
Health andSafety|Health:|Healthy working environment|• Workplace practice and conditions and conditions in dormitories which violate basic human rights are forbidden• Regulations and procedures are established and followed regarding OHS, especially the provision and use of personal protective equipment, clean bathrooms,• access to potable water and if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage shall be provided• Management representative is responsible for the health and safety of all personnel and accountable for the implementation of the Health and Safety elements of the BSCI• Systems to detect, avoid or respond to potential threats to health and safety of all personnel shall be established|• Safe and healthy work environment• Accommodation, where provided, is safe and healthy|• Safe and hygienic working environment; knowledge of industry and specific hazards.• Access to clean facilities and portable water, and if appropriate, sanitary facilities for food storage.• Responsibility for heath and safety assigned to senior management representative• Establish systems to detect, avoid or respond to potential threats to the health and safety• Take adequate steps to prevent accidents and injury, by minimizing the causes of hazards• Not expose workers to hazards which may endanger reproductive health.|
||Access to clean facilities and potable water||||
||provision of dustbins and spittoons||||
||First Aid Appliances||||
||Medical Facilities||||
|WorkplaceConditions|Space||||
||Temperature||||
||Ventilation||||
||Noise||||
||Light||||
|Safety:|Safety of building||||
||Safety of machinery||||
||Gates/Stairs||||
||Emergency Exits||||
||Fire extinguisher||||
||Personal protective equipment (PPE)||||
|Welfare:|First aid appliances||||
||Toilets and washing facilities||||
||Where > 100 workers - canteen||||
||Where > 50 workers - Rest room||||
||Where > 40 female workers employed- child crèches/daycare||||
|Training|• Where > 10 workers are employed other than in the ground floor, there shall be a training for all theworkers about the means of escape in case fire.• There shall be a parade of fire extinction and escape at least once a year in a factory where more than fifty workers are employed.|• All personnel shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training, moreover• such training shall be repeated for new and reassigned personnel||• All Workers shall receive regular and recorded health and safety training|

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law 2006|BSCI|WRAP|JO-IN|
Environment|Disposal ofwaste and effluents|Every establishment shall have the properarrangement to remove the wastes created from the process of manufacturing.|• Procedures and standards for waste management, handling and disposure of chemicals and other dangerous materials, emissionsand effluent treatment must meet or exceed minimum legalrequirements|• Environment Manufacturers of sewn products will comply with environmental rules, regulations and standards applicable to their operations, and will observe environmentallyconscious practices in all locations where they operate.|N.A|
Women’sRights|Maternityleave:|• 16 weeks (8 weeks before and 8 weeks after delivery)• No woman shall be entitled to maternity benefit unless she has been employed by the employer for a period of six month immediately proceeding the day of delivery|N.A.|N.A.|• Workers shall have all entitlements and protection provided in national law and practice with respect to maternity.• Equal remuneration, equal evaluation, and equal opportunities for women• The right of all individuals to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence|
|prohibition of employing women workers in certain works|• cleaning and running machines, work with dangerous machineries unless they are sufficiently trained, work under ground or under water||||
|Restricted working hours:|• without consent no work between 10PM-6AM||||

Standard|Bangladesh Labor Law 2006|BSCI|WRAP|JO-IN|
Management systems||• The supplier company shall define and implement a policy for social accountability, a management system to ensure that the requirements of the BSCI Code of Conduct can be met as well as establish and follow an anti-bribery / anti-corruption policy in all of their business activities.• Management is responsible for the correct implementation and continuous improvement by taking corrective measures and periodical review of the Code of Conduct, as well as the communication of the requirements of the Code of Conduct to all employees.• It shall also address employees’ concerns of non compliance with this Code of Conduct.|N.A|N.A.|
EmploymentRelationship|• Employer shall provide employment contract and Identity card with photo to every employee• Appointment Letter and Identity Card; Service Book; register of workers|N.A.|N.A.|• Work performed must be on the basis of a recognized employment relationship established through national law and/or practice• Not avoid obligations under law through use of labor-only contracting, sub-contracting or home-working arrangements or apprenticeship schemes• Nor shall any such obligations be avoided through the excessive use of fixed-term contracts of employment|
Others||N.A.|• Customs Compliance Manufacturers of sewn products will comply with applicable customs laws, and in particular, will establish and maintain programs to comply with customs laws regarding illegal transshipment of sewn products• Security Manufacturers of Sewn Products will maintain facility security procedures to guard against the introduction of non-manifested cargo into outbound shipments (i.e. drugs, explosives biohazards and /or other contraband)|N.A.|
Qualifiers|• Compliance with all applicable national laws and regulations|• Compliance with all applicable national laws and regulations, industry minimum standards, ILO and UN Conventions, and any other relevant statutory requirements whichever requirements are more stringent.|• Manufacturers of sewn products will comply with laws and regulations in all locations where they conduct business.||

Published by: German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), November 2007

For further information, please contact information

PROGRESS
GTZ Office Dhaka
House # 10/C, Road # 90
Gulshan – 2
Dhaka -1212
Telephone: 9887567, 8823070 Ext 106
Email: ameena.chowdhury@gtz.de[->13]

[->0] - mailto:progress@gtz.de
[->1] - http://www.gtz.de
[->2] - http://www.gtz-progress.org
[->3] - http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/docs/declworld.htm
[->4] - http://www.sa-intl.org
[->5] - http://www.ethicaltrade.org
[->6] - http://www.fairlabor.org
[->7] - http://www.fairwear.nl
[->8] - http://www.bsci-eu.org
[->9] - http://www.wrapapparel.org
[->10] - http://www.JO-IN.org
[->11] - http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl
[->12] - http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl
[->13] - mailto:chowdhury@gtz.de