Some Organizations for Agricultural Laborers in Bangladesh

This is the only national federation of trade unions in the agricultural sector. It began its activities in July 1978 to promote laborers' rights. Through ensuring human rights, agricultural and sustainable development of rural life, this organization works for the development of the poor and the rural population. BAFLF has been working on behalf of agricultural laborers, research farms laborers¹⁵ , sericulture farms, sugarcane farms, seed-processing centers, and live-stock farms, mostly in Gazipur and Pabna districts. The main office of this organization is in Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh.

At present BAFLF is running a variety of social awareness activities, through various meetings, movements, strikes, rallies, etc. They have long worked to increase the wages of the laborers employed at various agricultural farms. This organization was able to form an agreement with the government in 1990 through their strong movements and campaigns: The Agricultural Farm Workers’ Appointment and Control Policy. The purpose of this policy was

15 Who (an agricultural laborer) works on a private or government farm

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to determine the daily wages of agricultural laborers, pay festive bonuses, regularize irregular and seasonal workers, enable workers to receive maternity leave, and pay compensation for accidents at work place. It was a successful initiative by BAFLF. Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labor Federation has been successful in raising the salaries of agricultural laborers working in agricultural farms (paddy research, agricultural research, jute research, sugarcane research and silk plantation research?) in the wake of a long struggle, in 2016 (BAFLF report, June 2016).

However, the activities of BAFLF are not much in evidence. They are more interested in raising awareness through meetings and seminars than working directly with agricultural laborers.The following is a brief summary of the conscious work BAFLF does, on issues concerning:

-a) Use of environmentally friendly sustainable agricultural technology

b) Benefits and rights of immigrant workers

c) Sustainable agriculture

d) Health and safety of farmers and laborers

e) Inclusion of agricultural laborers (who work outside farms) in a trade union

f) Increase awareness for the importance of preservation of domestic seeds and effects of pesticides on soil

g) Regularization of irregular and seasonal workers in agriculture

h) Food sovereignty

b) Bangladesh Kheet Majour Samitee (BKMS)

This is a political institution aligned with the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), established on 18 March 1981. The main purpose of this organization is to mobilize, and organize agricultural and other rural laborers. Generally, it is active in the northern region of Bangladesh but its office is located in the capital, Dhaka. Its biggest achievement so far was

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the successful movement in the 1980s for khas land¹⁶ , which is the term used for land completely under the control of the government. The government can dispose of these lands or use them in any other way, according to government regulations. BKMS promoted a movement to provide landless farmers with khas land. Many landless farmers and agricultural laborers acquired khas land in the 1980s with the help of BKMS.

The activities of BKMS are similar to those of BAFLF. BKMS also raises awareness among rural laborers by organizing rallies, seminars and so on. Sadly, their work at grass-roots level is inadequate. The main activities of BKMS are to promote the following:

-a) Guaranteed work throughout the year

b) Elimination of wage discrimination in terms of gender

c) Equal rights for women laborers

d) Ensuring health and education facilities

e) Fixing a minimum wage rate

f) Providing the opportunity and facilities to join a trade union

g) Official registration as an agricultural laborer

h) Provision of food security

c) Bangladesh Bhumihin Samity (BBS)

BBS is a non-government institution which works for the landless, agriculture laborers, sharecroppers, marginal farmers, rural laborers & other occupational groups. With the goals of establishing the rights of the laborer, it started its activities on 22 March 1982. Its main focus is to establish rights to land, rights to food, and elimination of all forms of discrimination. It’s main targeted working area is also the northern part of Bangladesh but the activity of this organization is not so visible at present. It was also associated with acquiring khas land in the

16 Land that is completely under government control

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1980s.

Farmers perform a large part of the work of this organization, which mainly works to improve the quality of life of landless farmers and resolve their various problems. So their activism is not often applied to agricultural laborers. The main purpose of its members is to provide agricultural products at affordable prices to rural landless farmers, increase subsidies on agriculture and increase the allocation for agriculture in the national budget. Also, providing ownership of land to rural farmers is an important part of their work. This organization also deals with the following issues:

-a) Ensuring a minimum wage

b) Ensuring of employment off-season

c) Land reform

d) Facilitating opportunities to join a trade union

e) Health and education

f) Elimination of corruption d) Nijera Kori

This, too, is an NGO. However, this organization works not only with agricultural workers but with rural people in general, both men and women, to improve their living standards. This organization started in 1980 with the goal of improving the lives of rural people by ensuring their basic rights. A large part of the focus of this NGO involves rural agricultural laborers and small and marginal farmers. Its main purpose is to consolidate rural and poor people with awareness so that they can become strong in realizing their rights, especially those who have been the victims of exploitation and social neglect for a long time. So, basically, it is facilitating the rural and poor people to improve their present and future life by focusing on their minimum basic human rights.

Since its inception, the organization has been very active in its work. The articles published

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on their website show that they have played a leading role in solving various problems of rural agricultural laborers (Barkat et. al 2007). The headquarters is located in Dhaka but it has branches in Rajshahi, Khulna, Rangpur and Chittagong. The following are some of the issues that Nijera Kori deals with:

a) Awareness building

b) Empowerment support initiatives

c) Cultural initiatives

d) Organizing landless peasants

e) Ensuring equal wages

e) Karmojibi Nari

This is an NGO working with agricultural laborers, and is currently their largest and most active organization. This organization started on 1st May, 1991 with the aim of securing equal rights for women workers. The founder of this NGO is Shirin Akhter, who is a Member of Parliament and General Secretary of the Jatiya Sanmajtantrik Dal political party. The targeted group of this organization is working women in both formal and informal sectors. At its beginning, it was involved with only the women laborers working in factories making ready-made garments in Bangladesh, but in 2005 it included women agricultural laborers as one of its working projects. It currently works with women garments workers, women agricultural workers and women migrant workers.

Karmojibi Nari is working to establish the rights of women agricultural laborers and to draw the attention of the government. It has been working since 2006 for the recognition of women agricultural laborers as a ‘laborer’ in the National Labor Policy of Bangladesh, which it succeeded in achieving in 2013 (Ullah 2016). In the context of the work of Karmojibi Nari, the Labor Law includes agricultural laborers in the definition of laborer. This NGO offers interest free loans to women agricultural laborers. It also helps women workers during natural

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disasters and emergency periods.

The main goal of this organization is to establish effective rights for women workers through national movements. In addition, it works to develop the skill of women workers by providing modern and effective training. Also, it helps rural and poor women workers to organize themselves so that the National Labor Act is implemented properly. Raising the awareness of women workers is an important goal of this organization.

A unique feature of this organization is that it maintains an excellent relationship with the government and continues to do its work. It publishes a huge number of newsletters, books, reports and leaflets every year. Beside these activities, Karmojibi Nair hosts many meetings, seminars and campaigns throughout the year. It also creates employment opportunities for women through various jobs offers. Now this NGO has its branches in 12 districts in Bangladesh.

f) National Women Farmers and Workers association (NWFA)

NWFA was established in 1993 to work with women farmers and agricultural laborers but at present it works in partnership with the Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labor Federation (BAFLF). The main aim of this NGO is to achieve equal rights for men and women, to eliminate wage discrimination of women workers. It creates small women's groups at local and national levels to unite women laborers. This organization recruit’s member for its group and delivers knowledge and awareness to rural women.

This NGO carries out its activities through meetings, rallies, seminars and so on. It conducts surveys and case studies of violence against women. It also works on the effects on climate change on women agricultural laborers, and works to ensure the education and health of rural women workers.

In addition to these NGOs, the Government has established some initiatives which are very

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much based on its social security program. There are 130 social security programs running for the alleviation of poverty, and ensuring education and health for all (Ullah 2016) The programs mentioned above are not solely for agricultural laborers but are distributed among the poorer sections of the country in general.

Government Food Assistance Program

There are mainly two types of food assistance programs.

1. Conventional test relief and 2. Food for work (kabikha).

There are two types of activities in the Kabika program. One is Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), under which food aid is provided to the poor at no cost. The other is Vulnerable Group Development (VGD), which provides teamwork, training, skill enhancement and savings activities. Only 5% of the poor population is covered by these various programs based on basic needs. These include:

-a) Old age allowance b) Poor mother allowance c)Widow allowance d)Shelter home program

e) Project dropout student allowance d)Student with disabilities allowance e) Employment for the poorest people

f) Interest-free microcredit to rural affected mothers g) Maternal health voucher program

These organizations all work on to raise a protest against the undue and unjust situations of agricultural and allied rural laborers, following their initiation of the struggle for attaining the

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demands of laborers, such as a guarantee of work, wages to survive, equality concerning wage, leave, gratuity, medical facilities, and job security, as occurs in other sectors of Bangladesh society.

6.3.4 Views of the Agricultural Laborers On the Role of the Various Organizations