Settlement of industrial dispute under Section 210 | Bangladesh Labor Act -2006:
As per section-210 (BLA-2006),
(1) If at any time an employer or a Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) finds that an industrial dispute is likely to arise between the employer and the workers, the employer or the CBA shall communicate their views in writing to the other party.
(2) Within 15 days of receiving the letter under sub-section (1), the recipient shall arrange a meeting with the other party to initiate collective bargaining through discussion, to reach an agreement on the matters raised in the letter; such a meeting may also be held between representatives of both parties authorized for this purpose.
(3) If the parties reach a settlement on the issues discussed, a Memorandum of Settlement shall be recorded in writing and signed by both parties. A copy of this shall be forwarded by the employer to the Government, the Director General (of Labor), and the Conciliator.
(4) If—
(Ka) The recipient of the letter sent under sub-section (1) fails to arrange a meeting within the time specified in sub-section (2), the other party, or
(Kha) no settlement is reached within one month from the date of the first meeting held for dispute resolution, or within such extended time as agreed upon in writing by both parties; then, any party may, within 15 days after the expiry of the period mentioned in sub-section (2) or (4)(b) as the case may be, inform the Conciliator mentioned in sub-section (5) and request them in writing to settle the dispute through conciliation.
(5) For the purposes of this Chapter, the Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, appoint the required number of Conciliators for specific areas, establishments, or industries. The Conciliator appointed for that specific area or industry shall receive the request for conciliation under sub-section (4).
(6) Within 10 days of receiving such a request, the Conciliator shall begin conciliation proceedings and call for a meeting of both parties to settle the dispute.
(7) The parties to the dispute shall appear before the Conciliator, either in person or through representatives authorized to enter into a binding agreement on their behalf, on the date and time fixed by the Conciliator.
(8) If the dispute is settled through conciliation, the Conciliator shall submit a report to the Government, along with a copy of the Memorandum of Settlement signed by both parties.
(9) If the dispute is not settled within 30 days of the Conciliator receiving the request, the conciliation proceedings shall fail, unless the period is extended by the written consent of both parties.
(10) If the conciliation proceedings fail, the Conciliator shall try to persuade both parties to refer the dispute to an Arbitrator for settlement.
(11) If the parties do not agree to refer the dispute to an Arbitrator, the Conciliator shall, within 3 days of the failure of conciliation, issue a Certificate of Failure to the parties.
(12) If the parties agree to refer the dispute to an Arbitrator, they shall submit a joint request for the settlement of the dispute to an Arbitrator agreed upon by both.
(13) The Arbitrator mentioned in sub-section (12) may be a person from a panel of Arbitrators prepared by the Government for this purpose, or any other person agreed upon by the parties.
(14) The Arbitrator shall give an Award within 30 days of receiving the request for arbitration, or within such extended time as agreed upon in writing by the parties.
(15) After giving the Award, the Arbitrator shall send one copy to the parties and another copy to the Government.
(16) The Award given by the Arbitrator shall be final, and no appeal shall lie against it.
(17) An Award shall remain valid for a period not exceeding two years, as determined by the Arbitrator.
(18) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, if the Director General deems it necessary for the settlement of a dispute, they may at any time withdraw any conciliation proceeding from a Conciliator and conduct it themselves, or transfer it to another Conciliator, in which case the other provisions of this section shall apply.
(19) Regardless of anything contained in this section, where a Trade Union of employers or a Federation of Trade Unions is registered for a group of establishments, the CBA of that group shall communicate with said Trade Union or Federation regarding industrial disputes; any settlement reached with them shall be binding on all employers and workers of the concerned group of establishments.