All readymade garment factories, which have been shut down due to labour unrest, reopen today, and law enforcement agencies will be there to ensure security, said Adviser to the Labour and Employment Ministry, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuyain.
Adviser Asif said, “If the industry does not survive, not only the owners and workers but also we will face the consequences. There is a significant gap between owners and workers that we need to bridge.”
He made the remarks in a view exchange meeting titled “Ongoing crisis in RMG factories and potential solutions” with the garment factory owners, advisers to the interim government and union leaders on Saturday at the BGMEA office in Dhaka.
Senior Vice President Abdullah Hil Rakib moderated the programme, while BGMEA President Khandoker Rafiqul Islam presided over it.
During the meeting, Asif Mahmud said, “Since we took charge, we are involved in resolving chaos and working like firefighters, and that is why we could not focus on policy making.
Previously, workers could not protest against the irregularities and speak of their rights, as there was no freedom of speech. Now the workers have the rights, and they are trying to voice their rights.”
Referring to the formation of a Labour Grievance Monitoring Committee, he said, “We urge the workers to have faith in us. Please submit your complaints to the committee. We will address the issues by discussing them with all parties involved.”
The young leader said, “Whenever workers raise their voices, we generalised this as conspiracy. However, in reality, there are still many problems in the industry. Low wage is a key problem, and we have to address this first.
He added that during last year’s protest over wages hike, over 40 cases were filed against RMG workers. The government is working to withdraw the cases.
Asif mentioned that many Indian newspapers and bloggers are encouraging their entrepreneurs to invest in the sector by saying that the RMG business will shift from Bangladesh to India.
“They [Indian newspapers] are claiming that now is the best time to invest in the RMG sector due to Bangladesh’s unstable situation. However, we need to decide whether or not we will provide them with this opportunity.
During the meeting, the garment factory owners said that if the labour unrest continues they have to shut down their production units from Sunday under a "no work no pay" policy for an indefinite period.
Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan assured the owners of factory security and said, “Anyone attempting to shut down factories to destabilise the government and harm the economy will be held accountable. The government will implement special measures to address the unrest in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector.”
Workers’ leader Babul Akter said, “There are differences in facilities such as tiffin allowance, and attendance bonus among factories. The owner should discuss these differences and work as a body.
“Mid-level management should address and correct any negative behaviour towards RMG workers and show them the respect they deserve.”
Echoing Babul, senior workers’ leader Amirul Haq Amir said, “Necessary steps should be taken against these mid-level workers.”
He suggested implementation of TCB cards for export-oriented workers, which they [workers] demanding for a long time.”
Labour adviser assured them that the government will implement this as early as possible.
Previously, due to the workers' unrest starting from August 31, thirty-eight readymade garment factories remained shut on Saturday in the Ashulia area, according to the BGMEA source.
Among the factories, 36 followed the "no work, no pay" policy under the Labour Act section 13/1.
Besides, the Hameem Group factory in the same location was forced to suspend production on Saturday afternoon when workers refused to do the production.
However, the number of factories, that remained their production closed was 116 on Thursday.
Ccompany's Managing Director AK Azad said, “In the current situation, it is impossible to pay workers’ wages, even by selling our resources. If the government guarantees our factory’s safety, we will reopen it.”
Dekko Group Managing Director Kalpan Hossain said, “Workers are inhumanly beaten by mid-level management. Now they are in fear to face workers.”
