Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman yesterday conveyed the decision to US Ambassador Harry K Thomas during a meeting at the finance ministry.

"EPZ workers will be given rights to practise limited unionism," Saifur told reporters after the meeting. "The law ministry has been asked to draft a law by March 25 for EPZ trade unions."

The EPZ trade unions will not be permitted to get involved with any political party, sources said.

"If parliament is not in session when the law has been drafted, it will be made effective through an ordinance," Saifur said. "The law will be acceptable to all parties concerned."

The World Bank and the Bangladesh EPZ Authority have prepared a framework for the law after discussions with investors and US labour organisation American Federal Labour Congress and Industrial Organisation (AFLCIO).

The framework was presented at yesterday's meeting with Thomas, who reportedly found it acceptable.

The meeting over, Thomas told journalists that the framework would be finalised in a few weeks.

He said introduction of trade union would not scare away investors and would be acceptable to all.

Earlier, the US agreed to give Bangladesh an extension of about two months to decide on allowing trade union in the EPZs. Bangladesh got bogged down in a trade conflict with the US that threatened cancellation of trade concessions if it did not allow EPZ unionism by January. But the overriding concern was that foreign investors opted to roll out of the country if unionism was allowed.

The two EPZs -- one at Savar and the other in Chittagong -- employ 130,000 workers in around 180 industrial units and boast South Korean and Japanese investments, apart from local investment to the tune of $600 million.

Bangladesh sat on the issue because GSP (generalised system of preference) has a comparatively low economic value in its total export basket.

Under GSP, Bangladeshi exports to the US fetch $40 million a year, but exports from the EPZs earn $1.2 billion, a fifth of the country's total export earnings.

Again, the US is the largest buyer of Bangladeshi products, accounting for 44 percent of its total exports -- mostly outside GSP.

Around $103 million was invested in the EPZs last year and fresh recruitments there increased to 10,000 in a country with high unemployment.