Law Minister Shafique Ahmed yesterday said the government will amend relevant laws to make alternative dispute resolution (ADR) system mandatory in disposing of industry and labour related cases.

If the owners and labours settle their disputes through ADR system outside courts, peace and discipline will be restored in the society, leading the production of industries to increase, he said.

Shafique was speaking as the chief

guest at a workshop on "Inclusion of ADR in Bangladesh Labour Act 2006", chaired by Dr Kamal Hossain.

Bangladesh Law Commission (BLC) and Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) jointly organised the programme at Cirdap auditorium in the city.

The law minister said the government will consider if it receives necessary recommendations from labour and owner organisations to amend the laws to make ADR compulsory at the labour courts.

"We are working to introduce ADR

system in disposing of not only the labour and industrial cases, but also many other civil and criminal cases through mediators.''

Shafique said the judges of labour courts will categorise the cases for disposal through ADR. Both the owners and labours will benefit from ADR, as their cases will be disposed of through mutual understanding and good relationship, he added.

Dr Kamal Hossain said none of the country including owners and labours are benefited if their cases remain pending in the courts for long.

Delays in settlement of cases hamper production of industries, he said. End of disputes between the owners and labours through ADR is inevitable to increase production, he added.

Justice Md Abdul Zaiz, chairman of Labour Appellate Tribunal; BLC Chairman Prof Shah Alam; Justice Zinat Ara, judge of the High Court; Israfil Alam MP; Abdullah Al Faruque, teacher of Chittagong University; Farida Yeasmin, deputy director of BLAST; and Shirin Akter, president of Karmojibi Nari; among others, addressed the workshop.