Source: New Age, 25 April 2010

Pleaders and NGO and trade union leaders at a roundtable on Saturday differed on the government’s proposal for decentralisation of labour courts in every district.

Such a decentralisation will add to hassles for labourers to get justice, they said, adding that the government could set up labour courts in every division and in industrial areas.

Farida Yesmin, deputy director (law) of the Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, read out a draft proposal on the issue where she said the number of labour courts was inadequate for workers to get justice easily.

She talked about advantages and the disadvantages of establishment of labour courts in every district. The country now has seven labour courts.

The BLAST, Institute of Labour Studies and Manusher Janya Foundation organised the roundtable on ‘advantages and disadvantages of decentralisation of labour courts’ at the Dhaka Reporter’s Unity.

BLAST executive director Mohsin Ali Khan, who presided over the roundtable, said the government should hold discussions with the stakeholders before establishment of labour courts in every district.

RMG labour leader Touhidur Rahman said it would increase complexities if labour courts would be set up in every district and the justice would be further delayed.

Lawyer Nesar Ahmed favoured expansion of labour courts so that labourers could get justice easily.

BILS assistant executive director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed said, ‘We want an increase in the number of labour courts for an easy access for workers to justice.’