The Bangladesh Employers’ Federation is the sole national-level employers’ organization of the country. Registered in 1998, the Federation represents all sectors, industries, trade, banking, insurance, etc. The Federation now represents nearly 90 percent of the established employers in the private sector and the Sector Corporations and autonomous bodies, such as Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation, Bangladesh Steel & Engineering Corporation, Bangladesh Sugar & Food Industries Corporation, Bangladesh Textile Mills Corporation, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation, Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, Bangladesh Power Development Board, etc.

The Federation renders the following services to its members:

• Offer advice on labor problems and guide employers in their collective bargaining with the unions.
• Hold monthly meetings of senior personnel and labor welfare officers in Dhaka and Chittagong to facilitate exchange of views on current topics and help organizations find solutions to prevailing issues.
• Keep members informed about the latest labor situation through weekly reports and monthly bulletins.
• Collect, compile, and circulate various comparative information on pay scales and terms of service to maintain uniformity of action to members.
• Prepare index of various facts and figures and make those available to members and government agencies as and when needed.
• Conduct limited research on related issues.

The activities of the Federation are governed by the policy decisions and guidelines formulated by the BEF Committee elected under the Constitution of BEF.

As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the Secretary-General carries out the strategic guidelines given by the Committee. She/he devotes herself/himself entirely to the business and affairs of the Federation.

She/he is in charge of all correspondence and keeps an account of the funds of the Federation and the funds connected with or in any way controlled by the Federation. She/he, under the guidance of the BEF Committee, performs all such duties as are incidental to her/his office

Bangladesh Employers’ Federation (BEF) welcomes any Limited/Partnership Company engaged in trade and commerce or manufacturing to apply for its membership.

Limited/partnership companies engaged in trade and commerce or manufacturing interested in BEF membership first need to apply for a membership form, fill it in, and submit. The form is placed on the Finance and Membership Sub-Committee of the Federation. The Sub-Committee, after considering the associated details about the applicant, recommends to the Federation’s Committee. The Committee makes a thorough scrutiny of the applicant and makes the final recommendations after knowing all details about the applicant. The Committee in their meeting finally approves the membership.

The Committee reserves the right to accept or reject any membership application without mentioning any reason. The entire process may take one to one and a half months’ time in normal circumstances if all details are satisfactory.

Traditionally, the Federation has been following a practice of being choosy about membership. This is primarily because of maintaining an excellent reputation in terms of business best practices. Currently, there are 190 members in BEF’s membership roll. These include 165 Ordinary Members, 21 Group Members, and 9 Associate Members. The members are large enterprises (ordinary members), associations (group members), and ISCs and similar bodies (associate members).

Companies benefit from a BEF membership in the following areas:

Advocacy and Lobbying: As the national employers’ representative, BEF advocates and lobbies for its members’ interests during the formulation of various policies, laws, rules and regulations on industrial relations.

Representation on National Bodies: BEF has the right to nominate employers’ representatives in various tripartite policy boards and agencies like the Minimum Wages Board and Tripartite Consultative Council.

Advisory Services: Through its Secretariat, BEF offers valuable advisory services to its members in all aspects of industrial relations, including wage negotiations, labor-management relations, disciplinary action, and interpretation of labor laws.

Training: BEF’s trainings help managers, supervisors, and business owners to learn about the latest management tools and technical knowledge on workplace issues. In addition, BEF also creates opportunities for the member firms to get international exposures by nominating officials of the member organizations for various international trainings.

Labour Court Assistance: BEF represents the employers in the seven Labour Courts of the country and ensures the safeguarding of the interest of its members.

OR

Upon becoming a member of BEF, any organization will enjoy all the services offered by the Federation. It will also be able to join and take part in the Federation’s activities. The company will also benefit through regular communications of BEF with the member organizations. BEF undertakes various lobbying activities for upholding the collective interest of various sectors. It represents the ultimate platform of the employers. It is a matter of honor for a member company to be part of the organization. It can join a collective voice to safeguard employer’s interest on a national level. Any company can also give its inputs during a policy formulation process that may influence its business.

(a) Every potential ordinary member has to pay a onetime Tk. 100 entry fee. For potential group members, the entry fee is Tk. 500.
(b) The yearly subscription fees are: Tk. 5,000 (Ordinary members), Tk. 1,000 (Associate Members), and Tk. 13,500 (Group members.
(c) The yearly subscription charge for all BEF publications is Tk. 800/year.
(d) Ordinary members are subject to a levy@ Tk. 6 per permanent worker. However, the levy payable by ordinary members cannot be less than Tk. 500 or exceed Tk. 20,000 no matter the number of its permanent workers.
(e) The BEF Committee may, from time to time, increase or decrease the above amounts of subscription payable by each class of members.

Interested persons may contact the Federation Secretariat for relevant information during business hours. Any individual representing an eligible ordinary, group, or associate member can seek election to the Federation’s Board of Directors as per the Federation’s Election Rules.

Businesses could carry out their promotions via business networking in various meetings/seminars/workshops and other related events/activities organized by the Federation at different times, independently, or in joint collaboration.

BEF regularly publishes various important reports. All BEF publications are available at the Federation Secretariat during business hours. Besides, related Federation publications are also available at the BEF website.

For any official and business purpose, anyone can contact the BEF Secretariat at Chamber Building, 122-124, Motijheel C. A., Dhaka-1000. The Federation provides all secretarial and business services from this office during business hours.

For the newly enrolled members, entrance and membership fees become due at the time of enlistment as a member. For other regular members of BEF, membership subscription becomes due on the first day of January every year.

Any member may withdraw its membership from the Federation by giving two calendar months’ notice in writing to the Secretary-General & CEO. Upon expiration of the notice period, such member shall cease to be a member of BEF. However, the member must clear all dues before withdrawing its membership, including membership fees for the current year (if not paid).

Yes. BEF offers training programs in the areas of

(i) Occupational Health and Safety: BEF regularly arranges trainings on occupational health and safety which help the industry players learn the become more aware of the relevant issues at work.
(ii) Managerial skills: Management training is a regular feature of the Federation’s activities. Senior officials engaged in respective management functions take part in various seminars/workshops organized by the Federation, which are facilitated by national and international experts.

The Seminar Sub-Committee considers the topics, the course contents, the level of participants, etc. based on expert advice. Participants have found the trainings to be extremely rewarding.

BEF has affiliations with the International Organisation of Employers (IOE), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Association for Overseas Technical Scholarship (AOTS) and many other organizations.