BANGLADESH

The cabinet, led by prime minister Sheikh Hasina, on Monday gave provisional approval to the amended draft of Bangladesh Workers' Welfare Foundation Act-2012.

Once implemented, the law will make it mandatory for companies to deposit 5 percent of profit to workers' welfare funds.

"The attendees of the meeting also decided to include penalties for those who violating this law," Cabinet Division secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said while giving details on the cabinet decision.

He said the legislative division of the law ministry has been asked to formulate the kind of penalties to be given on violation. "The law ministry will finalise a proposal on this matter and send it back for placing in the cabinet," he said.

The cabinet also endorsed the draft on Public Servants (Retirement) (Amendment) Act 2012 aimed at passing it into a law in parliament the ordinance promulgated by the president for extension of the retirement age of the civil servants, from 57 years to 59 years.

"The prime minister at the meeting directed the appropriate authorities to take quick steps to turn the ordinances promulgated during the last three years of the present government into laws," the Cabinet Division official added.

The cabinet meeting also accepted a proposal for exchange of land with Turkey for construction of own embassy buildings in the capitals of the two countries.

Though the draft of Bangladesh Pure Food (Amended) Act-2012 was scheduled to be placed before the cabinet for approval, the health ministry withdrew it at the last moment. The law will be placed in the next cabinet meeting after further modification and addition, he said.

89% DECISIONS IMPLEMENTED

Mosharraf said the cabinet was pleased with the rate of implementation of its decisions taken during the last three years.

The meeting was informed that the council of ministers had taken 901 decisions in 134 meetings in its first three years against 488 decisions in 131 meetings during the same period of the preceding government.

The execution rate is around 89.3 percent in comparison with 71 percent of the past government.

The number of laws passed by the present government during this time was 153 while it was 102 during the previous government, he added.