g) Openness of machineries
h) Training as to use of machine safely
i) Condition electric connections
j) Sufficiently wide floors, stairs and pathways
k) Floors, stairs and pathways free from blockade
l) Effective lighting, ventilation and room-temperature control system
m) Density of workers in workplace
n) Wide connecting roads around the factory for easy and quick accessibility
o) Awareness program
7. Historical Background of Labour Law
The emergence of labour law in Bangladesh is as old as its origin in the Indian sub-continent
dating back to the last half of the 19th century. The Factories Act, 1881 was the first legislation of
its kind in the undivided India.8 The legislation was enacted in the wake of pressure of the British
merchants and mall-owners as well as on the basis of a report of Major Moore, Inspector in Chief
of the Bombay Cotton Department in 1872-1873 in a bid to regulate the working conditions in
factories. Subsequently, the British Government introduced several other laws relating to various
labour issues such as working hours, wage, trade union activities, employment of children,
maternity benefit etc.9 Prior to the present version of the BLA 2006 there were as many as 50
scattered laws regulating employer and establishment with regard to the rights and interest of
workers. Out of those 50 laws, 15 were enacted during the colonial British regime, 23 were
passed during the Pakistan period and only 12 were made during Bangladesh period.
Establishment of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1919 galvanized the legal
framework as to labour rights.10 After the separation of the India and Pakistan in 1947, almost all
the laws during the pre partition period have been kept in force with some minor modifications
and amendments. After the independence in 1971, the government of the People’s Republic of
8
Hossain, J., Ahmed, M. and Akter, A., Bangladesh Labour Law: Reform Directions. Dhaka: Bangladesh Institute
of Labour Studies (BILS), (2010), p. 5.
9
Mishra , L. 2012, History of Labour Rights. Social Change, no. 42.vol.3, pp. 335–357.
10
David A. Waugh, “The ILO and Human Rights,” Comparative Labor Law, 5(2):186–196 (Spring 1982)