Commitment or Conspiracy? A Historical Exploration of Freedom of Association in the Readymade Garment Industry of Bangladesh

The historical texture of the trade union movement in Bangladesh is the struggle for survival and subordination. Now garment workers are enjoying the rights of eight-hour working days, weekly holiday leave, maternity leave, and so on, thanks to the struggle of the trade union movement. But the trade union movement in Bangladesh was historically weakened by its division into multiple federations, each aligned with a different political party as its labour front. This study will seek to understand the factors that restrict the freedom of association of garment workers in Bangladesh. The necessity of finding and analysing obstacles regarding the formation of unions in the garment industry and ensuring the environment to foster effective trade unionism in garments can be determined through the outcomes of this research. This article presents a brief historical overview of trade union movement conditions under different regimes, from British India to modern Bangladesh. It also incorporates a clarification of the workers’ freedom of association barriers and the recent changes in perceptions in this regard. The objective of the study was to learn about the practise of trade union organising in the garment industry in Bangladesh. This study will be significant for establishing the right to associate for workers in our society. This article also contributes to the debate on how national legislation undermines workers’ freedom of association.