THE BANGLADESH LABOUR ACT, 2006, CHAPTER XVII

CHAPTER XVII
PROVIDENT FUND

  1. Provident funds for workers in private sector establishments.—(1)

Any establishment in the private sector may constitute a provident fund for the benefits of its workers.

  • The said provident fund shall be constituted by an establishment in such manner as may be prescribed by rules made in this behalf under sub-section (3).
  • Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the Government may make rules for constitution of the provident fund for workers employed in establishments in private sector, and where such rules are made the establishment to which those rules apply, shall be required to comply with the provisions of such rules.
  • The said provident fund shall be administered by a Board of Trustees.
  • Such Board of Trustees shall consist of equal number of representatives of the employer and workers employed in the establishment concerned; and a person nominated by the Government shall be its Chairman.
  • The representatives of the employer shall be nominated by the employer and the representatives of the workers shall be nominated by the collective bargaining agent.
  • Where there is no collective bargaining agent in an establishment, the representatives of the workers shall be elected by the workers of that establishment under the supervision of the Director of Labour.
  • All members of the Board of Trustees shall hold office for a period of 2 (two) years:

Provided that they shall continue to hold office until their successors enter upon office.

  • Every permanent worker shall, after completion of 1 (one) year of his service in the establishment, where the provident fund is constituted, subscribe to the provident fund, unless otherwise agreed upon, in every month a sum, not less than seven percent and not more than eight per cent of his monthly basic wages; and the employer shall contribute to it an equal amount.
  • Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, an establishment in the private sector shall be required to constitute a provident fund for the benefit of its workers, if at least three-fourths of the total number of workers employed therein so demand to the employer by an application in writing.
  • Where a demand for constitution of a provident fund is made under sub­section (10), the employer of the establishment shall, within 6 (six) months of the receipt of application make necessary provisions for its constitution under sub­section (3) and the provident fund shall start operation before the expiry of that period.
  • At least half of the total accumulations in such provident fund shall be invested for any of the following purposes, namely:—
  • C.B, Mutual Fund Certificate;
  • C.B, Unit Certificate; and
  • any government securities including defence and postal saving certificate.
  • The cost of maintenance of the provident fund shall be borne by the employer.
  • The accounts of income and expenditure of the provident fund shall be audited every year at the cost of the establishment in the same manner as the accounts of income and expenditure of the establishment are audited:

Provided that the Government may appoint an independent auditor for any special audit of the income and expenditure of such fund at its own cost.

  • A statement of accounts of income and expenditure of the provident fund, together with the audit report relating thereto, shall be forwarded to the Director of Labour within 1 (one) month of the submission of audit report.
  • Where the Government is satisfied that a provident fund constituted in an establishment in the private sector is working satisfactorily and the workers have no complaint against it, the Government may, on application by the employer of that establishment, by order in writing, exempt that establishment from the operation of this section.
  • An establishment constituting a provident fund under the provisions of this section shall be deemed to be a government establishment for the purposes of the Provident Funds Act, 1925 (Act No.XIX of 1925).
  • In this section, an establishment in private sector shall mean such an establishment which is not owned or managed directly by the Government or by any local authority or to which any provident fund rules made by the Government or by any local authority does not apply.
  1. Tea Plantation Workers’ Provident Fund.—(1) There shall be established a provident fund to be called the Tea Plantation Workers’ Provident Fund.

(2) The Tea plantation Workers’ Provident Fund, hereinafter in this Chapter referred to as the Provident Fund, shall vest in, and administered by, a Board of Trustees constituted under section 266.

  1. Tea plantation Workers’ Provident Fund Board of Trustees.—(1) The Government shall, by notification in the official Gazette, constitute a Board to be called the Board of Trustees of the Tea plantation Workers’ Provident Fund.

(2) The Board of trustees shall consist of the following members, namely:—

  • a Chairman;
  • three members representing the employers;
  • three members representing the tea workers;
  • two members who are not connected with tea industry.
  • The Chairman and other members shall be appointed by the Government:

Provided that the members under clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section 2 shall be appointed by the Government in consultation with the organizations of employers and, as the case may be, the workers who are recognized by the Government in this behalf.

  • The Chairman and other members shall hold office for a term of 3 (three) years from the date of their appointment:

Provided that notwithstanding the expiry of such term, they shall continue to hold office until their successors enter upon office.

  • The Chairman and other members shall perform such duties as are assigned to them under this Chapter or by rules.
  • The Board of Trustees shall be a body corporate and shall have perpetual succession and a common seal, and shall by its own name sue and be sued.

1[(7) No person shall be a member of the Board of Trustees, if he—

  • has been convicted in a criminal proceeding involving moral turpitude;
  • has not passed 5 (five) years after being declared insolvent by a competent Court;
  • is declared by a competent Court to be of unsound mind or mentally deranged.
  • The Board of Trustees may, for efficient discharge of its functions, after making regulations with prior approval of the Government in this behalf, appoint necessary number of manpower.]
  1. Cost of administration.—(1) The Board of Trustees may levy an administrative charge on the basis of subscription.
  • The Government shall, in consultation with the Board, fix such percentage of the total contributions of employers and workers as shall be the cost of administration.
  • The employers shall, within 15 (fifteen) days of the close of every month, pay the administrative charge so fixed to the Provident fund by separate bank draft or cheque.
  • When the payment of the administrative charge is made by a cheque, the collection charge, if any, shall be included in the amount for which the cheque is drawn in respect of the administrative charge.
  1. —(1) Every employer of a tea plantation, which is in operation for more than 3 (three) years, shall, in respect of every worker, other than an apprentice, employed in his tea plantation for more than 1 (one) year, pay to the provident fund a subscription at the rate of seven and a half per cent of the basic wages for the time being payable to that worker.
  • Every worker mentioned in sub-section (1) shall pay to the provident fund a subscription equal to the subscription payable by the employer in respect of him.
  • Where the amount of any subscription payable under this section involves a fraction of taka, such fraction shall be rounded off to the nearest taka.
  • If, in any case, the subscription made at the time of coming into force of this Act to an existing provident fund is higher than that provided in this section, then that higher rate of subscription shall continue to be made as if this Act had not come into force.
  • The total accumulations in the provident fund shall, in such manner as may be prescribed by rules, be held in deposit and be invested.
  1. Recovery of damages.—Where an employer makes default in the payment of any subscription to the provident fund, or default in the payment of any charges payable under this Chapter or any rules, the Board of Trustees may, in addition to the amount of arrear so due, recover from the employer damages at the rate not exceeding 25% (twenty five percent) of the amount of such arrear.
  2. Provident fund not liable to attachment.—(1) The amount standing to the credit of any worker in the account of his provident fund shall not in any way be assigned or charged and shall not be liable to attachment under any decree or order of any Court in respect of any debt or liability incurred by the worker, or no receiver appointed under the Insolvency Act, 1920 (Act No.V of 1920) shall be entitled to claim of such amount.

(2) Any amount standing to the credit of any worker in the account of his provident fund at the time of his death shall, subject to any deduction authorized under any other law, vest in his nominee and shall be free from any debt or other liability incurred by him or by his nominee before his death.

  1. Payment of subscription to get preference over other debts.—If any amount due in respect of any subscription under this Chapter is payable before the employer is adjudged insolvent or in the case of a company ordered to be wound up before the date of such order, it shall be deemed to be included among the debts under section 61 of the Insolvency Act, 1920 (Act No. V of 1920) or under section 230 of the Companies Act, 1994 which shall get preference over all other debts in the distribution of the property of the insolvent or the assets of the company being wound up.
  2. Employer not to reduce wages or other amenities.—No employer shall, by reason only of his liability for payment of any subscription or any charges under this Act or any rules, reduce, whether directly or indirectly, the wages of any worker or other benefits.
  3. Provident fund for newspaper workers.—(1) Every newspaper establishment shall, for the benefit of its newspaper workers, constitute a provident fund in such manner as may be prescribed by rules.
  • The said provident fund shall be administered by a Board of T rustees.
  • The said Board of Trustees shall consist of equal number of representatives of the employer of the newspaper establishment and of the newspaper workers employed in it and they shall be nominated and appointed in such manner as may be prescribed by rules.
  • Every newspaper worker shall, after completion of the first 2 (two) years of his service in any newspaper establishment, subscribe to the provident fund every month a sum not less than seven percent and not more than eight percent of his monthly wages, and the employer shall also subscribe to that fund at the same rate.
  • During the first 2 (two) years of his service, a newspaper worker may, at his option, subscribe to the provident fund, but the employer of the newspaper establishment may or may not, at his option, subscribe to that fund.

A newspaper establishment shall be deemed to be a government establishment for the purposes of the Provident Fund Act, 1925 (Act No. XIX of 1925).

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