The fallen Awami League (AL) party and the apparently-friendly neighbouring nation India, are allegedly instigating unrest among workers in Bangladesh's readymade garment industry, with claims suggesting a plot to destabilise the country's economic backbone.
Industry insiders and government officials assert that the unrest is part of a broader effort to create chaos and potentially relocate the vital sector to India. The accusations, they said, are fuelled as the ongoing protests’ patterns are different from the last one and a half decades of unrest.
They further claimed that same evil design was applied during the labour unrests of 2005-06. This time, however, the rationale behind the demands appears weaker, with only a small faction inciting chaos in the Ashulia and Savar industrial zones.
On Wednesday, a group of miscreants set fire to a factory, Big Boss, in the Bhabanipur area of Gazipur, confirmed Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director Mohiuddin Rubel.
In response to the unrest, 116 factories announced closures on Thursday, with 75 implementing the "no work, no pay" policy under section 13/1 of the Labour Act.
‘Seizing relocated orders’
Commenting on the issue, Little Star Spinning Mills Chairman Mohd Khorshed Alam told The Business Post, "The neighbouring country is behind the ongoing unrest. Their aim is to tarnish Bangladesh's reputation by inciting chaos, and then capitalise by seizing relocated orders.”
“If challenged, I am ready to prove this. The workers themselves are not involved—it's a small group of 30-40 individuals who gathered at the factory gates to incite protests. Factory owners have been forced to shut down operations to safeguard their facilities," he asserted.
The RMG company chairman confirmed that "this is the true situation behind the current unrest."
Meanwhile, Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, adviser to the Ministry of Labour and Employment said that following the labour unrest, the interim government has decided to review the RMG workers’ minimum wages.
Segueing to the protest situation, the Labour Grievance Monitoring Committee, constituted by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, had their first meeting on Thursday in Dhaka and decided to visit the industry zones of Ashulia and Savar areas on Sunday.
The committee also believes that the Awami League and India are fuelling the ongoing protests, although some of the workers' demands are reasonable and should be addressed by factory owners in the interest of the sector and the country.
During the meeting, the members of the Labour Grievance Monitoring Committee discussed the presence of a significant number of Indian nationals working in the RMG industry as officials, with some possibly playing a role in the unrest. Video evidences were reportedly addressed showing ousted AL members and their affiliated wings directly involved in acts of vandalism and inciting workers to create chaos.
Committee member Advocate Atiqur Rahman said, "We have put forward several immediate recommendations for the interim government to address the unrest. The committee strongly believes that the Awami League and external forces, particularly India, are contributing to the ongoing disruption.
"We see this as an attempt to destabilise the incumbent interim government. We urge workers, factory owners, law enforcement agencies, and citizens—especially students—to stand united with the RMG sector and uphold the spirit of the revolution," he urged.
According to the BGMEA, the ongoing protests began on August 19 at the Dhaka EPZ gate, where a vested group started demonstrating which then spread to nearby factories. Although the initial impact was minimal, claimed the trade body, the impact as of now has spiralled.
Close ties with Hasina
Industry insiders, workers and law enforcement sources reported that on August 31, some 10,000 workers of the Nassa Group began vandalising factories. They forced other factory owners, including Al-Muslim Group, to shut down and instigated the workers there to join the protests.
The Nassa Group workers also vandalised several factories as owners and workers refused to halt production. Since then, these areas have seen ongoing labour unrest and frequent factory closures.
Fuelling the implications of inciting anarchy, it is worth noting that Nassa Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder is closely tied with the former ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Recently, Bangladesh Bank dissolved the EXIM Bank board, in which Mazumder served as chairman as well, citing financial irregularities.
Law enforcement agencies explained that the jhut business was previously controlled by local Awami League leaders. After the authoritarian Awami League regime was overthrown by a student-led revolution on August 5, local BNP-backed leaders tried to take control of the business.
Meanwhile, fallen AL is attempting a political comeback, with significant support within the RMG sector, they claimed.
“As the RMG sector is the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy, Awami League has chosen this sector, and in cohorts with India, are trying to take control of this sector, creating instability in this export-driven industry,” a Law enforcement agencies’ meeting insider told The Business Post, citing reports from law enforcement agencies.
In the meantime, BGMEA Director Md Ashikur Rahman Tuhin said, “It is clear that a vested group is trying to create instability within the RMG sector. Previously, workers demonstrated with some concrete demands. However, the ongoing protestors do not have any logical demands.
“Even, though workers regularly come to the factories, we have been forced to close operations due to the outsiders’ violence.”
