Called the Universal Pension Management Bill, the measure is a response to the low number of people in Bangladesh who enjoy social protection. According to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) 2020-2022 World Social Protection Report, only 28.4 percent of Bangladeshis are covered by some form of social security and protection.

The country’s trade unionists celebrated the passage of the bill, hailing it as “huge victory” which they said was the result of the efforts of unions and civil society groups.

“We welcome the passage of this law as it fulfills one of our long-standing demands. We are now reviewing it from the trade unions’ perspective and shall submit our concerns to the government. We will closely follow the framing of the rules and guidelines consequential to the passage of this bill. We will also demand tripartite structures and ensure that the law is inclusive by securing the representation of workers,” BBWWF General Secretary Repon Chowdhury said.

Before this, Bangladesh’s pension scheme was available only to public sector employees. Under the law, all Bangladeshi nationals aged 18 to 50 years, including expatriates, can join the pension scheme.

The pension fund shall be governed by a National Pension Authority comprised of five members, and a 15-member governing body that includes a representative from the employers’ federation. Trade unions, however, are not represented in the governing body. Yet, the trade unionists said that the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention of 1952 (No. 102) and Recommendation 202 mention tripartite participation with representative organisations of employers and workers regarding the establishment and review of social security guarantees.

Internacional de Trabajadores de la Construcción y la Madera

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