Labour Appellate Tribunal running without chairman

The Labour Appellate Tribunal is being run without a chairman since March 9 causing immense sufferings for the justice seekers.

A labour court consists of a chairman and two members -- one representing the worker and the other representing the employer.

The chairman, who is a judge, picks the two members to constitute the court for the purpose of hearing an industrial dispute or a dispute relating to the service/employment of the workers.   
The Appellate Tribunal is composed of a chairman and a member. The chairman is a sitting or retired judge of the High Court and the member is a senior judge of a district and sessions judges court.

There is an opportunity to file appeal to the Labour Appellate Tribunal against the Labour court judgment. But, no appointment to the post of chairman at the Labour Appellate Tribunal for more than one year has made the situation worse.

Rafiqul Islam Khan, the former president of Dhaka Labour Court Bar Association, thinks that the Labour Appeal Tribunal should appoint a chairman soon in order to quick disposal of the pending cases.

At least 1,107 cases are currently pending with the appellate tribunal, 4,596 with the Dhaka first court, 5,273 with the Dhaka second court, 4,005 cases with the Dhaka third court, 1,510 with the Chattogram first court, 578 with the Chattogram second court, 214 with the Khulna court and 415 cases with the Rajshahi court.

Most of the pending cases have been filed over disputes related to layoffs, sackings, retrenchments, non-payment or delayed payment of wages and benefits, workplace injuries, and violations of trade union rights, court sources said.

Court officials say some of the cases have been pending for 10 years even though the labour law requires all cases to be disposed of in 60 days. If the cases are not disposed within 60 days, the court can extend the deadline for another 90 days showing a valid reason.

One of the problems relating to the cases is "the law does not specifically say what would happen if the case is not resolved within the stipulated time," said a member of a labour court in Dhaka.

A labour court case should be disposed of within 60 days from filing and the time can be extended for another 90 days if there is any valid reason, according to the law.

Registrar of Labor Appellate Tribunal Adhir Chandra Bala said, considering the number of cases, creation of another post of member is under process.

Labour Court Bar Association General Secretary Rafiqul Islam said it takes time to start a case proceeding because of formalities and thats one of the reasons behind the backlog. Usually a court takes 18 to 24 months to dispose of a case, he added.

Rafiqul Islam Khan, the former president of Dhaka Labour Court Bar Association, said that the authorities concerned should appoint the chairman of the Appellate Tribunal immediately as the pending cases increased due to the non-appointment of the post.

He said that the speed of settling the case, which would have been there if the trial was going on at the Appellate Tribunal.

 But, currently the trial is not going on at the Appellate Tribunal that caused suffering for the justice seekers, he said adding that the litigants are feeling very helpless. Some people have to wait five to seven years to come at this stage of the trial, so many people give up hope of justice.