AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

IN BANGL~DESH

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HO-'IC,Nt.., '~"Il. '# I '

•- - - -

AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF

INDUSTRIAL DISPUTES

IN BANGLADESH

1. Int roduc t ion

Seve r a l s tudi e s of Bangl ade sh' s indus t r i a l s e c tor by HIID__

• •7 ._'l_..... -~~'~""~

have r eve a l ed tha t manuf a c tur ing inve s tment

ha s be en s luggi sh and manuf a c tur ing ouc .put ha s s t agna t ed,

pa r t i cul a r ly s inc e the NIP82 wa s int roduc ed. Among pos s ibl e

expl ana t ions of f e r ed by va r ious a c tor s in the f i e ld inc lude the

fol lowing, among othe r s : the s t a t e of indus t r i a l envi ronment ,

cha r a c t e r i z ed by unc e r t a int i e s of pol i c i e s ; smuggl ing and

cor rupt ion and the exi s t enc e of a l a rge numbe r of high- cos t

indus t r i e s , probabl e r e a sons for both of whi ch a r e high

prot e c t ion and e f f e c t ive a s s i s t anc e ; l a ck of compe t i t ive

envi ronment ; exogenous f a c tor s , such a s f loods , f a l l in jut e

pr i c e s ; the debt -de f aul t di s e a s e and the cons equent c r edi t

squ~eze; the inexpe r i enc e of the na t ion' s ent r epr eneur s and

manage r s a s we l l a s lo~, .. jus t r i a l ba s e ; inha rmonious indus t r i a l

r e l a t ions ; and so for th. Some of the s e i s sue s and s eve r a l othe r s

a r e de a l t wi th e l s ewhe r e in thi s i s sue , pa r t i cul a r ly s e e Study

No.7. In the pr e s ent pape r , we ana lyz e indus t r i a l di sput e s ,

a t t r ibut ed by employe r s ma inly to indi s c ipl ine among worke r s and

the pol i t i c i z a t ion of l abor unions .

-We look a,t the ext ent and the di s t r ibut ion of indus t r i a l

di sput e s ove r t ime and ve r i fy whe the r l abor mi l i t ancy and

indus t r i a l unr e s t a r e the c aus e or the e f f e c t of indus t r i a l

s i ckne s s tha t ha s gr ipped thi s count ry for some t ime .

The pape r i s divided into the fol lowing s e c t ions : Se c t ion 2

de s c r ibe s the sour c e s of da t a . The type s and ext ent of

indus t r i a l di sput e s a r e s tudi ed in Se c t ion 3. In Se c t ion 4, we

di s cus s the c aus e s of indus t r i a l di . sput e s . Se c t ion 5

summa r i z e s the me thods by whi ch mos t di sput e s we r e =e solved. The

e conomi c cos t s of di sput e s a r e a s s e s s ed in Se c t ion 6. Ef f e c t s of

indus t r i a l di sput e s on the produc t ivi ty of l abo= in the jut e

s e c tor i s examined i~ Se c t ion 7.

the f indings of the s tudy.

2. Sour c e s of Da t a

---

The f ina l s e c t ion summa a r i z e s

Aggr ega t e da t a on indus t r i a l di sput e s we r e obt a ined f rom

va r ious i s sue s of the Banql ade sh Labor Journa l (BLJ ) . The BLJ i s

publ i shed annua l ly, exc ept for the pe r iod 1974-76. The da t a for
r e c ent ye a r s , 1986 through 1988, we r e t abul a t ed ma r .ua l ly wi th the

a s s i s t anc e of the Di r e c tor a t e of Labor pe r sonne l . The s t a t i s t i c s

on e s t ima t ed produc t ion and wage los s e s due to indus t r i a l

di sput e s , for key indus t r i e s , we r e a l so col l e c t ed f rom

unpubl i shed docume~ts of the l abor of f i c e .

To c ros s - che ck the da t a of the Di r e c tor a t e of Labor , work

-,

s toppc lge s emana t ing both from wi thin and out s ide the f i r :n we r e

t~=ulated by s tudying e ' , e ry s ingl e i s sue of the l e ading da i ly

E~glish new~paper, !ge Bngl ade sh Obs e rve r , ar.d the popul a r

23s t r ike , i t i s serio~s enough to wa r r ant a settleme~t ~ither

through volunt a ry :':';e~l1ods, such a s col l e c t i .ve ~argaining,

medi a t ion, arbi-:.::-a~ion or vi a di r e c t int e r 'Tent ion by a

gove rnment a l body ~rgi~g uncondi t iona l r e turn to work.

Ove r t ime , the : : : - equency of di sput e s ha s not shown any

obvious t r end ( s e e : abl e 1 and Fig. 1) . I t maybe s e en tha t the

ye a r s 1975, 1976, and 1988 expe r i enc ed low numbe r s of indus t r i a l

di sput e s (2, 5 and. 9 r e spe c t ive ly) , whi l e the highe s t numbe r of

di sput e s wa s r e corded in 1984. Did the dives~ituture of

na t iona l i z ed indus t r i e s and the l ibe r a l i z a t ion envi ronment tha t

wa s ushe r ed in by a l e ap f rog by the NIP82 make any di f f e r enc e to

indus t r i a l di sput e s ? Whi l e the r e i s some sugge s t ion for a br e ak

( s e e Fig.1) , the sha::-p r eve r s a l of the curve t ends to minimi z e

the impa c t of the NIP82 pe r s e on indus t r i a l di sput e s . On the

othe r hand, a s a f i r s t approxima t ion pol i t i c a l f a c tor s s e em to

f i t the f a c t s be t t e r .

The ve ry low numbe r of di sput e s in 1975 and 1976 c an

probably be: a t t . r ibut ed l a rge ly to pol it i c a l event s . The

s igni f i c ant jump in the numbe r of di sput e s dur ing 1978 through

1981 wa s , probably in pa r t , due to the l i f t ing of the ma r t i a l l aw

in 1978. Pa r a l l e l expl ana t ion s e ems to apply to the f a l l in

di sput e s dur ing the ma r t i a l l aw of 1982-84 and an outbur s t of

s t r ike s in 1984 due to the l i f t ing of the ma r t i a l l aw in the

l a t t e r ye a r . The downwa rd t r end in the numbe r of di sput e s

r epor t ed for the pe r iod 1985-88 i s an int e r e s t ing phenomenon.

Pos s ibl e expl ana t ion for tha t and othe r pos s ibl e expl ana t ions for

'.the change s dur ing the ent i r e "pe r iod wi l l be explor ed in the next

s e c t ion.

Di sput e s £y Region/Di s t r i c t

Mos t of the forma l s e c tor industr~e5 a~e loc a t ed in the

thr e e ma jor c i t i e s ( and henc e di s t r i c t s ) of Bangl ade sh: Dhaka ,

Chi t t agong, and Khulna , wi th Dhaka c l a iming the l ion' s sha r e .

, Al though an ove rwhe lming numbe r of f i rms a:::e loc a t ed in Dhaka ..

Dhaka ' s sha r e in l abor di sput e s i s propor t iona t e ly lowe r . From

1973 through the NIP Ye a r 1982; Dhaka ' s sha r e in indus t r i a l

di sput e s was 28 pe r c ent . Sinc e then i t ave r age s out to 23

pe r c ent . Dur ing 1982, Dhaka did not have a s ingl e indus t r i a l

s t r i f e . Tha t was not tru~ in othe r pa r t s of Bangl ade sh. In none

of the ye a r s Dhaka r egi s t e r ed more than 50% of the di sput e s - - tha

highe s t be ing 43.8% in 1983. Howeve r , in t e rms of tot a l mandays

los t Dhaka ' s sha r e was much highe r (46 pe r c ent ) upto 1982 but a

low of 24 pe r c ent (same a s the pe r c ent age { sha r e of the numbe r of

di sput e s ) in the pos t -NIP pe r iod. The pr edominanc e of l a rge

ent e rpr i s e s in Dhaka and the loc a t ion of the bulk of the indus t ry

may expl a in thi s f inding.

Va r ious expl ana t ions may be of f e r ed for the low f r equency of

indus t r i a l di s rupt ion in Dhaka . I t i s gene r a l ly be l i eved tha t

t r adi t iona l ly the incumbent gove rnment ma int a ins s t rong l i a i son

wi th l abor l e ade r s in- and- a round Dhaka , and a r e ve ry pe r c ept ive

to ma int a ining ove r a l l pe a c e and di s c ipl ine a round the c api t a l .

Fur the r explor a t ion into thi s imba l anc e i s in orde r , but beyond

the s cope of thi s s tudy. A knOWledge of the suc c e s s of Dhaka in

ke eping the tnc idenc e of indus t r i a l s t r i f e s and output los s e s

5r e l a t ive ly low should he lp in enhanc ing pe a c e in othe r pa r t s of

the count ry.

4. Na tur e of Indus t r i a l Di sput e s

Indus t r i a l di sput e s do not a lways oc cur be c aus e of f a i lur e

of management and t r ade unions to come to an agr e ement . In

Bangl ade sh, int e r - and- int r a -union r iva l r i e s , pol i t i c a l i s sue s and

token and sympa thy s t r ike s of t en cont r ibut e s igni f i c ant ly to the

na t iona l los s of output and employment . The l a t t e r type of

phenomena a r e c l a s s i f i ed a s di sput e s emana t ing f rom pol i t i c a l

c aus e s . Economi c f a c tor s inc lude demands for highe r wage s ,

be t t e r working condi t ions , and f r inge bene f i t s . Ac cording to

Tabl e 2, dur ing the Pr e -NIP pe r iod, 1973 to 1981, e conomi c

f a c tor s c l e a r ly domina t ed the c a s e s tha t l ed to disputes-~84.2%i

the r ema ining di sput e s we r e due to pol i t i c a l f a c tor s . A tot a l

r eve r s a l i s evident for the Pos t -NIP pe r iod 1983 through 1988,

when 82.0% of the di sput e s we r e due to pol i t i c a l r e a sons . (Se e

a l so Fig. 2.

The inc r e a s ing propor t ion of pol i t i c a l f a c tor s in indus t r i a l

di sput e s have impor t ant r ami f i c a t ions . Employe r s a r e l ike ly to

ge t f rus t r a t ed a s they c annot avoid or di s cour age thes~ phenomena

int e rna l ly, i r r e spe c t ive of the i r manage r i a l acumen, pa t e rna l i sm

towa rds worke r s , and s imi l a r othe r t r a i t s tha t a r e us e ful .for

running an ent e rpr i s e smoothly. In. f a c t they may have to spend

t ime and r e sour c e s to wa rd of f pol i t i c a l di s turbanc e s vi a va r ious

l ega l and othe r means.

65. Se t t l ement of indus t r i a l di sput e s

Unl ike mos t we s t e rn count r i e s , in Bangl ade sh a r e l a t ive ly

low pe r c ent age of di sput e s a r e r e solved through employe r -

employe~ ~argaining, medi a t ion, a rbi t r a t ion or the l ega l sys t em.

Ra the r , an inc r e a s ing numb~r of di sput e s a r e t e rmina t ed through

"uncondi t iona l r e turn to work. " As one may obs e rve from Tabl e 3,

the mos t co~~only us ed me thod of s e t t l ement of di sput e s us ed in

Bangl ade sh, in r e c ent ye a r s , ha s be en uncondi t iona l r e turn to

work (ove r 60% . ;.nce 1983) . Thi s f inding c an be int e rpr e t ed in

two ways : One int e rpr e t a t ion c an be tha t the compl a int s tha t

commenced the di sput e a r e be ing que l l ed through gove rnment

int e rvent ion. Thi s would r e f l e c t the abs enc e of a we l l -deve loped

indus t r i a l - r e l a t ions sys t em in whi ch col l e c t ive ba rga ining pl ays

,.a key rol e . Cons equent ly, one of the two pa r t i e s may r ema in

di sgrunt l ed, prompt ing indus t r i a l unr e s t in due cour s e . The

s e cond int e rpr e t a t ion i s tha t the good of f i c e s of the gove rnment
in promot ing indus t r i a l pe a c e a r e suc c e eding. Tha t i s a progr e s s

for indus t r i a l he a l th.

76.'. Ef f e c t s of Di sout e s

The e conomy-wide e conomi c los s of indus t r i a l ,di sput e s i s

di f f i cul t to quant i fy. However, the Di r e c tor a t e of Labor a t t empt s

to a s s e s s the los s e s in t e rms of (1) mandays los t , (2) wages

los t , and (3) produc t ion los t due to indus t r i a l di sput e s . Mandays

los t we r e r epor t ed in Tabl e 1. A high pe r c ent age of di sput e s

r e sul t s in mandays los t in the r ange of 1001 to 10000. One

impl i c a t ion of thi s f inding i s tha t mos t di sput e s r epor t ed a r e in

l a rge f i rms , or involve more than one ent e rpr i s e .

Nominal and r e a l wage and produc t ion los s e s , a s r epor t ed by

the Di r e c tor a t e of Labor , a r e summa r i z ed in Tabl e 4 and Fig. 3.

The ave r age annua l produc t ion los s dur ing the pa s t 9 ye a r s comes

to a ' l i t t l e more than 8 mi l l ion US dol l a r s or a tot a l of US$ 75

mi l l ion dur ing the 9 ye a r s f rom 1980 through 1988.

High magn~tudes of wage and produc t ion los s e s oc cur r ed

I"

roughly in year~ 1980, 1981, and 1986. puz z l ingly, thos e a l so

happen to be roughly the ye a r s wi th high r a t e s ,of growth of r e a l

GOP and pr iva t e indus t r i a l inve s tment . A pos s ibl e expl ana t ion

may be tha t Bangl ade shi worke r s s imply want to sha r e in the

prospe r i ty of the e conomy, and they c an a f ford to suf f e r

t r ans i tory los s e s for pe rmanent ga ins in the futur e . On the

othe r hand, when the economy i s s luggi sh and wages cont inue to be

s t agnant , worke r s t end to be c aut ious so they do not

j eopa rdi s e the i r jobs by going on e conomi c s t r ike s . But they

seem to be germane to r e sor t to pol i t i c a l ha r t a l s , r e f l e c t ing a

di s enchant :nent wi th the pr evcLi l ing e conomi c condi t ions , pe rhaps

8J

'wi shing or expe c t ing tha t the a l t e rna t ive gove rnment would do

be t t e r to ame l ior a t ing the i r e conomi c condi t ions .

Indus t r i a l unr e s t i s a common phenomenon in the jut e s e c tor .

Thi s i s qui t e evident f rom Tabl e 5. I t i s the onl y indus t r y whi ch

ha s the di s t inc t ion of incur r ing for egone produc t ion due to

indus t r i a l di sput e s eve ry y ear of thi s de c ade . The jut e indus t ry

i s the bigge s t among a l l indus t r i e s wi th 61% of employment in

the e a r ly 1980s , whi ch was r educ ed (ma inly by the cot ton mi l l

s e c tor ) to a l i t t l e ove r 40 pe r c ent in the l a t e 1980s . Jut e

indus t ry ~s domina t ed by powe r ful unions . I t was a lmos t 100

pe r c ent in the publ i c s e c tor t i l l 1982, end about 50% of i t i s

s t i l l publ i c ly owned. Cot ton, pr int ing_ pr e s s e s , and, of l a t e ,

chemi c a l and pha~aceutical s e c tor s a r e a l so be a r ing the brunt of

l abor unr e s t .

7. Indus t r i a l di sout e s and produc t ivi ty

Produc t ivi ty of l abor i s dependent on many f a c tor s ,

inc luding t e chnology, opt ima l mix of input s , manage r i a l

e f f i c i ency, worke r s ski l l s and mot iva t ion, and so for th.

Indus t r i a l di sput e s usua l ly l e ad to work s toppage s . But even when

they do not , the y r e f l e c t a degr e e of di sha rmony pr eva i l ing in

.,

the indus t r i a l s e c tor . As such, a hypothe s i s i s tha t ,

c e t e r i s pa r ibus , produc t ivi ty of l abor i s inve r s e ly r e l a t ed to

the f r equency of indus t r i a l di sput e s .

I t i s a l so impor t ant to de t e rmine the c aus a l i ty r e l a t ionship

be twe en indus t r i a l di sput e s and produc t ivi ty. On the one s ide

indus t r i a l di sput e s may r educ e the amount of work done , and

the r eby r educ e shor t - run output and produc t ivi ty pe r employe e .

9Al though c aus a l i ty r e l a t ionships a r e theor e t i c a l , in the

s ens e tha t they a r e usua l iy de r ived through obs e rva t ion and

intui t ion and the i r cons i s t ency i s t e s t ed by deduc t ive logi c . Not

a l l r e l a t ions have one -way c aus a l f low. Fe edba cks and

s imul t aneous de t e rmina t ion a r e a l so common. Where the na tur e of

the int e r r e l a t ionship be twe en two va r i abl e s i s not theor e t i c a l ly

e s t abl i shed, rough empi r i c a l t e s t s of the di r e c t ion of c aus a l i ty

have be en employed. One such approxima t ion i s the Gr ange r i an

t e s t , in whi ch one: va r i abl e i s r egr e s s ed upon the pr e s ent and

s eve r a l pa s t va lue s of the othe r , and vi c e ve r s a . The one wi th

the be t t e r ~it and supe r ior behavior of the s igns of the .

-.

coe f f i c i ent s of di f f e r ent l ags and the i r s t a t i s t i c a l s igni f i c anc e

i s cons ide r ed to give a more probabl e di r e c t ion of the c aus a l i ty

f low.

10onwa rd. The r e i s , thus , no evidenc e for the di r e c t ion of the

c aus a l i ty f low. Both va r i abl e s a r e pe rhaps inf luenc ed by some

othe r va r i abl e s , but do have some int e r a c t ive e f f e c t s . The

r egr e s s ions given be low, for the cont empor r -Emeous r e l a t ionship,

for the jut e indus t ry, for 13 annua l obs e rva t ions , a r e of some
int e r e s t .

1. LnPROD = 80.123

(4.95)

Adjus t ed = .65

2. Ln?ROD = 75.890

(4.10)

Adjus t ed = .53

0.038t

( -4.66)

0.036t

( -3.83)

0.075LnDIS

( -2.03)

0.033LnMAN

( -0.93)

0.096DML

( -1.31)

0.094DML

( -1.12)

3. L:lDIS = 374.90

(1.90)

0.178t

( -1.86)
4. 180LnPROD

( -2.03)

0.446DML

( -0.77)

t'

Adjus t ed = .10

4. 202.90

(0.75)

0.090t

( -0.68)

2. 63LnPROD

( -0.93)

He r e produc t ivi ty (PROD) i s de f ined a s gros s outpu~ pe r employe e .

The t e rm t s t ands for t ime , s e r i a l ~umber of ye a r s s t a r t ing in

1973 and rur .ning through 1988, exc ept ye a r s 1974-76; DIS i s the

number of di sput e s , DML s t ands for a dummy va r i abl e for ma r t i a l

l aw ye a r s ; M&~ the mandays los t in di sput e s ; and Ln s t ands for

na tur a l log. The numbe r s in pa r enthe s e s a r e t va lue s .

11I t may be s e en tha t the de c l ine in produc t ivi ty in jut e i s

expl a ined l a rge ly by the t r end f a c to. r . The c~efficien~ sugge s t s

tha t l abor produc t ivi ty in the jut e indus t ry ha s probably

de c l ined a t about 4% pe r ye a r on the ave r age . The r e sul t i s

cons i s t ent wi th the nega t ive TFP found in Pape r s 1 and 3 f rom

independent da t a sour c e s . Thi s c annot be due me r e ly to the sha rp

de c l ine in the pr i c e of jut e produc t s s inc e the mid-1980s ,

be c aus e in e a r l i e r ye a r s jut e pr i c e was f avor abl e . The r e exi s t s

a nega t ive r e l a t ionship be twe en produc t ivi ty and f r equency of

di sput e s . The coe f f i c i ent of log di sput e s sugge s t s tha t a

doubl ing_of indus t r i a l di sput e s wi l l probably be a s soc i a t ed wi th

a 7% de c l ine in l abor produc t ivi ty. The doubl ing of di sput e s

impl i e s 107 di sput e s pe r ye a r ins t e ad of the s ampl e mean of 53.4-

- a pos s ibl e but unl ike ly oc cur enc e . A ha lving of them to 2'1 wi l l

probably be a s soc i a t ed wi th (not ne c e s s a r i ly c aus ed by) an

' inc r e a s e in l abor produc t ivi ty of 7%. Even tha t high improvement

in l abor di sput e s wi l l , howeve r , be more than wa shed of f in 2

ye a r s by the she e r t r end r a t e of de c l ine in produc t ivi ty. Whi l e

a r educ t ion in di sput e s i s highly de s i r abl e , not onl y to. , r educ e

the di r e c t los s of output but a l so the i r indi r e c t e f f e c t on

indus t r i a l inve s tment , ma jor ga ins in produc t ivi ty and growth

real~y l i e in arre~ting the declinin~ t r end in produc t ivi ty and

then r a i s ing i t upwards. The sour c e s of de c l ine in p~oductivity

and r emedi e s the r e to a r e di s cus s ed in Pape r 7 of thi s i s sue .

The coe f f i c i ent of the ma r t i a l l aw ye a r dummy ha s the

nega t ive s ign, but i s not me a sur ed wi th p~ecision. The nega t ive

12

t'

i..

or z e ro va lue of the coe f f i c i ent sugge s t s tha t r e s t r i c t ing

worke r s f rom the i r r ight to s t r ike wi l l probably not enhanc e

produc t ivi ty of worke r s . Mandays los t a r e ha rdly expl a inabl , : ! by ;..

any va r i abl e . Di sput e s a r e nega t ive ly a s soc i a t ed wi th

-'I

...

.-

produc t ivi ty and s igni f i c ant ly so, though the di r e c t ion of the

c aus a l f low r ema ins in doubt . The remedy for l abor di sput e s i s

- improbabl e to be di f f e r ent f rom the r amedy for indus t r i a l

s t agna t ion.

7. Summary and Conc lus }ons

The s a l i ent f indings of thi s pape r a r e a s fol lows :

Ove r a l l indus t r i a l di sput e s indi c a t e a downward t r end in the

1980s . Mandays lose: in indus t r i a l di sput e s have , howeve r , not

shown any down~ward t r end ove r the ye a r s . Pol i t i c a l f a c tor s have

become a dominant c aus e of indns t r i a l s t r i f e s in Bangl ade sh.

Indus t r i a l di sput e s a r e lowe r in Dhaka than Chi t t agong and

Khulna a r e a s , both in t e rms of r e l a t ive indus t r i a l manpower and

indus t r i a l output .

Jut e , and to a l e s s e r ext~nt cot ton, pr int ing pr e s s ,

chemi c a l s and pha rma c eut i c a l indus t r i e s , a r e more prone to l abor

unr e s t than othe r s e c tor s .

A f inding of ma jor conc e rn of . thi s s tudy i s tha t , in the

1980s , l abor produc t lvi ty in the jut e indus t ry ha s probably

de c l ined a t a tr~nd r a t e of 4% pe r ye a r , othe r things be ing he ld

cons t ant . The nega t ive shor t - run e f f e c t of di sput e s on output i s

pe r c ept ibl e , but nowhere compa r abl e to the nega t ive t r end e f f e c t .

13For ins t anc e , a ha lving of di sput e s f rom i t s annua l mean wi l l

ha rdly c anc e l out two ye a r s ' nega t ive t r end e f f e c t on

produc t ivi ty. The r e a l damages of di sput e s a r e not to be found in

the output los s , whi ch i s r a the r mode r a t e . The r e a l impa c t i s to

be s e en in the indus t r i a l c l ima t e , whi ch may s c a r e away the

pot ent i a l inve s tor . Tha t i s , in pa r t , l ike ly to expl a in the

nega t ive t r end in l abor produc t ivi ty. For s igni f i c ant

improvement s in produc t ivi ty t ake pl a c e through embodi ed

t e chni c a l change in new inve s tment .

Employe e s and employe r s of the Bangl ade sh indus t ry a r e

f ight ing for ma int a ining or inc r e a s ing the i r sha r e s of a pi e

tha t , r e l a t ive to the i r numbe r s , ha s not grown bigge r for ye a r s . _

Compl a int s a r e . he a rd about Bangl ade shi worke r s l a cking

di s c ipl ine , be ing s t r i J , : : e -minded, and pol i t i c i z ed. Ent r epr eneur s

complain of the f a c t tha t be s ide s the r a t e of r e turn f rom the i r

inve s tment in industrJ~ be ing nowhe r e ne a r thos e f rom indent ing,

t r ading, and smuggl ing, they have to f a c e the ade i t iona l r i sk of

pe r sona l and f inanc i a l los s e s f rom having to de a l wi th worke r s .

They f ind i t cos t l i e r to di smi s s a worke r than hi r e one , more

di f f i cul t to shut a pl ant down than bui ld one ( a t l e a s t in sma l l

pa r t be c aus e of invi t ing the wr a th of worke r s ) .

On the othe r s ide , worke r s have not expe r i enc ed any

inc r ement in the i r produc t ivi ty for a long t ime . Inde ed, the

index of gros s produc t pe r employe e de c l ined from 100 1n1980 to

96 in 1986. Worke r s ' f rus t r a t ion i s thus not ha rd to unde r s t and.

14

..-

..
..:We he a r s tor i e s about r e l a t ive ly ha rmonious l abor r e l a t ions

in J apan and othe r Ea s t -As i an count r i e s . In the s e count r i e s ,

employe r - employe e r e l a t ions a r e s a id to be l ike a f ami ly.

Worke r s a r e loya l and employe r s a r e pa t e rna l i s t i c . Va r ious

cul tur a l and othe r r e a sons a r e advanc ed a s expl ana t ions for tha t

happy s t a t e . A r e a son tha t i s pe r t inent to not e he r e i s tha t

J apane s e worke r s have be en r e c e iving c los e to two-digi t annua l

r a i s e s in the i r r e a l wages for de c ade s . Na tur a l ly tha t s t a t e

must have some s a lubr ious e f f e c t on indus t r i a l r e l a t ions . As a

..,

r e sul t , cordi a l r e l a t ions a r e be l i eved to exi s t be twe en

employe r s and worke r s in J apan. The pr eva l enc e of pol i t i c a l

s t r ike s in Bangl ade sh could pos s ibly be due , in pa r t , to the

f a c t tha t they have not expe r i enc ed s igni f i c ant improvement in

the i r l iVing lot s . So ins t e ad of bl aming the poor pe r formanc e of

the i r indus t ry on e conomi c f a c tor s , they t end to bl ame (on

pol i t i c a l f a c tor s . Ac cordingly, a pos s ibl e r emedy for

de t e r ior a t ed indus t r i a l r e l a t ions i s a subs:tanti,~l inc r e a s e in

the r e s idua l f a c tor of produc t ivi ty, whi ch worke r s and employe r s

toge the r c an sha r e .

15Tabl e 1. - -Fr equency of indus t r i a l di sput e s , numbe r of worke r s

involved, and mandays los t , 1972-88

====================================================================

Nn. of Pe r c ent No. of Pe r c ent No. of 'Pe r c ent

Ye a r [.1,;3pU- Change in Worke r s Change in Mandays Change in

t e s Di sput e Involved Worke r s Los t Mandays

Involved Los t
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

39

58

32

49

-45

-94

150

43615

35027

57387

28327

14517

..

-20

64

-51

-49

126000

285177
231736

162000

25618

,.

126

-19

-30

-84

1977 22 340 76675 428 81715 219

1978 89 305 113209 48 662332 711

1979 96. 8 114248 1 647629 -2

1980 104 8 164032 44 1160436 79

1981 80 -23 117031 -29 1198460 3

1982 55 -31 21788 -81 238658 -80

1983 16 -71 175787 707 392616 65

1984 142 788 481004 174 444817 13

1185 95 -33 198118 -59 284920 -36

1966 46 -52 105977 -47 2079671 630

1987 18 -61 88795 -16 175278 ···92

1988 9 -50 28874 -67 49398 -72

Ove r -

a l l 53

Me an

109671 485085 ..

Sour c e : The Bangl ade sh Labor Journa l , va r ious i s sue s .

Suppl ement ed f rom unpubl i shed da t a of the Di r e c tor a t e 0: Labor .

1 rTabl e 2. - -Caus e s of indus t r i a l di sput e , e conomi c and pol i t i c a l

========== ==================================================~===

Ye a r

1973

1977

1978

1979

1980.

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

EconoIr.ic

51

15

67

75

95

75

55

15
18

19

% sha r e

e cono: a i c

87.93

68.18

75.28

78.13

91.35

93.75

100.00

12.50

10.56

18.95

43.18

5.56

44.44

Pol i t i c a l

22

21

o
14

127

77

25

17

% sha r e

pol i t i c a l

12.07

31.82

24.72

21. 88

8.65

6.25

0.00

87.50

89.44

81.05

56.82

94.44

55.56

Mean:

Pr e -NIP

73-81 378

NIP82 55

Pos t -NIP
83-E~8 59

Pos t -NIP

a s % of

Pr e -NIP 13.5

84.19

100.00

18.21

21.6

71

265

78.9

15.81

0.00

81.79

517.34

----------------------------------------------------------------

Sour c e : The Bangl ade sh Labour Journa l , unpubl i shed

da t a of the Labor Di r a c tor a t e .

\/,

" ,Tabl e 3. - -Na tur e of the s e t t l anent of di sput e s

================================================================

Di r e c t Mediation Arbi t r a - Uncondi- Othe r Tot a l

Negot i - by Gm" t . t ion by t iona l r-~tho::ls

Year a t io. , CQ.'rJ.ciali- Indepe.,- Re tum

a tory dent Tr - to Work

Of f i . c e r i .bJna l
1973 Na. 30 13 0 15 0 58

% 51. 7 22.4 0.0 25.9 0.0 100.0

1977 No. 2 4 0 16 0 22

% 9.1 18.2 0.0 72.7 0.0 100.0

1978 No. 32 53 0 4 0 89

% 36.0 59.6 0.0 4.5 0.0 100.0

1979 No. 20 37 0 33 6 6.3

% 20.8 38.5 0.0 34.4 6.3 100.0

1980 No. 19 14 1 0 70 104

% 18.3 13.5 0.96 0.0 67.3 100.0

1981 No. 23 18 0 25 5 80

% 40.0 22.5 0.0 31.3 6.3 100.0

1982 No. 33 12 0 1 9 55

% 60.0 22.0 0.0 1.82 10 62.5

1983 No. 4 0 0 10 2 16

% 25.0 0.0 0.0 62.5 12.5 100.0

1984 No. 10 15 0 103 14 142

% 7.0 10.6 0.0 72.5 9.9 100.0

1985 No. 10 0 0 84 1 95

% 10.5 0.0 0.0 88.4 1.1 100.0 .. -

i•

1986 No. 3 5 0 30 8 46

% 6.5 10.9 0.0 65.2 17.4 100.0

1987 No. 0 1 0 16 1 18

% 0.0 5.6 0.0 88.9 5.6 100.0

1988 No. 3 0 0 6 0 9

% 33.3 0.0 0.0 66.7 0.0 100.0

SOUrce: The Banaladesh La.1:x:ltlr Jouma l , va r ious i s sue s .

Also unp.JblisheC da t a of the Di r e c tor a t e of Lal:x>r.Tabl~ 4. - -Wage and produc t ion los s e s in
indus t ry due to

indus t r i a l di sput e s , HI ID e s t ima t e s

:====== ===========================~==~=======================

Wage los s e s Produc t ion los s e s

Ye a r In cur r ent In 1988 In cur r ent In 1988

pr i c e s pr i c e s pr i c e s pr i c e s

(Tk mi l l ion) (Tk mi l l ion) (Tk mi l l ion) (Tk mi l l ion)

(1) (2) (3) (4)

Sour c e : The Bangl ade sh Labour Journa l , va r ious i s sue s . Al so,

unpubl i shed da t a of the Labour Di r e c tor a t e ; the St a t i s t i c a l

Ye a rbook of Bangl ade sh, va r ious i s sue s .

•Tabl e 5. - -Wage s los t due to l abor di sput e s by indus t ry

(Taka s thous ands )

================================================================

Name of 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 19~7 1988

o
o

287

1388

45

oa

o 2595

o0

;) 0

o0

o0

11 107

60

100

2
o

12

o000

o 18 0 0

1000

o000

o000

o000

o000

o000

o000

o 94 0 0

277 0 0 0

720 0 0 0

4000

2000

12 16 0 0

o 0 123 12

18637 12028 48066 8331

312 589 1511 133

26 62 0 0

o
o

11

o
o

f'

oi

87

121

000
o 84 0

o 876 0

o 162124 0

o 0 1816

o 0 40

008

16

53

1300

33867 12781 6810

o 2267 0

o 27 0

1 Jut e

2 Cot ton

3 Pr int ing

4 I ron &

St e e l
5 Chemi c a l

& Pha rma .

6 Aluminium

7 Pape r

8 Oi l mi l l s

9 Shoe

10 Ship bui lding 115515

11 Hot t : : l &

r e s t aur ant

12 Mi s c .

Indus t ry

13 Jut e pr e s s

14 Te a

15 Bank

16 Le a the r

17 IWTA

18 Wa t e r

19 Ga rment s

Indus t ry

20 Pe t rol eum

21 News Pape r

22 Ga s

23 Rubbe r

produc t s

24 Engg.

25 Ma t ch

26 Tot a l 46735 178383 8674 4046 20005 12979 49808 11070 1720
27.1 As % of

26 72 7 79 !OO

28.Employment

in jut e a s

% of tot a l

Employment 59 61 61 61

93

47

93

45

97

44

75

42

81

aThe l a s t l ine = employment in jut e mi l l s a s a pe r c ent age of

tot a l employment in the fol loWing ma jor indus t r i e s : cot ton mi l l s ,

jut e mi l l s , suga r mi l l s , c ement , gl a s s , ma t ch, pape r , & engine e r i

Sour c e of da t a on wage los s : The Bangl ade sh Labor Journa l and

publ i shed da t a of the Di r e c tor a t e of Labor .

/.::

NO OF OISPUTES

-,

....

~rr

h.

IJ)..
~-+--~---'---"'--------'------'----J-_'>'--'"""",--........io---'--'>'--'-'----'------1

;.

I..

Qi

-i

1 I. .

·1 j

.,

~J

,~

~."

==

en

c::

'"1

lTl100

75

50

25

Pol i t i c a l r e a sons

NIP
Pol I t i c a l r e a sons

iii

Indns t r i a l

di sput e s for

pol i t i c a l

r e a sons

Indus t r i a l

di spnt e s for

economic

rC<JHons

1973 1977

-----~_....~--~!~

78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88

....

Fig. 2. - - Indus t r i a l di sput e s due to pol i t i c a l ve r sus economic r e a sons ,

1973-1988.

Sour c e : Tabl e 2• .

II'I''II

I I -i lan,:ays

l~o~t in

; [0,000' s

' l age

Los s

Hi l l
Taka s

in

1987-88

Pr i c e s

Produc t ion

Los s

1111.

Tak~s

in .

1981;88

Pr i c e s

Flg. ).--Estim~ted e~onomic loa~es due to indus t r i a l di sput e s , 1980-1988.

Sour cc: 'ra: Les anc: 4.

600,

400

1>0-

Ye a r s

200

500

300

1900'

1984 1965 1906 190t

Produc t ion.

los s

1983 .

10'
II'.\

\::

\ . :~. ". ,

Ii '\\

/: a;.\

\~ :/

Ii ~\

G ...\

to ~~

t '1

I t\

,!

l1

Ei

tt

I- t

-~ I

,.:

··r

• -. 1 ..

- ; - -_L. .

....

......

, ......

."

."
J

" ' . ....... n ,

. .... - " .

-r\....

8.,

-r...... ..

.~ ......-

loa t

19~ 1982

100i 160

140

80 J120

120.. 180

DO

60 i

80

40J 60

w.

20 +

20

oJ0

198'0

320

200.1

300
1801~eo

260

160

- ?40 -

140i 220

200

"~~

IIIII

I 1"" I