Bangladesh Employers' Federation (BEF) yesterday urged the government take steps to train workers before allowing trade union activities in the country's export processing zones.

They expressed apprehension that without proper knowledge of effects of trade union politicisation, trade union leadership and the need for excluding outsiders from enterprise level union activities the exports from the EPZs may be hurt.

The BEF by its President Iftekharul Alam led a delegation of its members and made the observations before Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury at his office.

The BEF said such training programmes would make the workers more responsible and exports from EPZs would not be hampered.

The government in a notification in January last year approved trade union activities in the EPZs from January 2004.

During the meeting the BEF delegation also raised the issue of national

minimum wage for the workers of industrial sector set by the previous government.

They told the commerce minister that the previous government through a Statutory Regulatory Order (SRO) declared national minimum wages "without any lawful authority".

The BEF had challenged the SRO and managed to obtain a stay order from the High Court. It also urged the minister to initiate move to promulgate the draft Labour Code, 1994, for improving the labour productivity and for bringing reform in trade union.

The BEF also pointed out that promulgation of the code was on the 100 days' agenda which was still to be done, the delegation said.

The delegation also said that developed countries were imposing conditions under different names like 'codes of conduct' and 'responsible manufacturing practices' which is hampering the country's export.

They suggested the government should take up the issue of protectionism attempts from different vested quarters in developed countries in the international forum as well as in the regional forum.