About 4,000 garment workers of five companies have been passing through hardship for last couple of months as they were not getting their wages and dues as per the law. The companies are Doreen Fashions Ltd, LA Fashions, Ha-meem Sportswear Ltd, Tuba Group and Amco Fashions Ltd. Labour rights groups alleged that the authorities of Doreen Fashions and LA Fashions shifted their production units to Zirani in Savar from Shewrapara and to Rupganj in Narayanganj from Agargaon respectively during the vacation of Eid-ul-Azha without paying dues of the workers. Denying the lawful dues and benefits of more than 1,200 workers, the factory owners shifted their units without any prior notice, they said. About 2,000 workers of Tuba Group and Ha-meem Sportswear Ltd were not getting their wages and dues as the authorities shut down their units under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act. Despite the government direction, Tuba Group kept their factories closed and workers remained unpaid since September. The government filed a case with the labour court against the owner of the group for not paying workers as per labour act. The workers of Amco Fashions Ltd were not getting their dues for last two months because of the dispute over the ownership of the company. The workers of the five companies have staged demonstrations several times in front of the headquarters of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association in the city. State minister for textiles and jute Mirza Azam on Monday sat with the garment owners’ leaders and wanted to know about the latest situation of the workers wages and garment sector compliance issues. In the meeting, the junior minister asked the leaders of the BGMEA and BKMEA to resolve the problems and to ensure dues for the workers of the five garment factories. Meeting source said that the BGMEA also sought help from the government to resolve the ongoing crisis in five companies as some of the owners did not respond to the call of BGMEA. National Garment Workers Federation president Amirul Haque Amin said that the authorities of Ha-meem Sportswear kept their unit shut under Section 13(1) of the labour act which was completely illegal. ‘It is nothing but an attempt to deprive workers as the workers of the factory are trying to get registration of a trade union,’ he said. He also said that it was a common practice of some garment factory owners to relocate units and terminate workers during the Eid vacation. Sirajul Islam Rony, president of Bangladesh Garment Workers Employees League, said that despite repeated appeal to the BGMEA, the organisation was yet to take any initiative to realise the lawful demands of the workers of Doreen Fashions Ltd and LA Fashions. He alleged that a gang hired by the factory owners assaulted several workers of Doreen Fashions for staging demonstration demanding the dues and benefits. The BGMEA vice-president SM Mannan Kochi said that the government suggested solving the wage related problems in the five companies including Tuba Group immediately. He informed the state minister that the BGMEA was trying to ensure that the workers can get paid by the factories which had been relocated and closed down. Mannan said the BGMEA also requested the state minister to take initiative to realise the insurance claim of Tuba Group owner. In the meeting, textile and jute ministry officials presented a list of 105 factories which had problems over the wages of the workers, sources present in the meeting said. The BGMEA and BKMEA leaders informed the ministry that all the disputes have been resolved except those in the five factories.
Source: New Age