Ganotantrik Bam Morcha, a conglomerate of seven left-leaning parties, on Saturday threatened to enforce a nationwide dawn-to-dusk hartal on May 2 if its 9-point demand, including the arrest of the owners of Rana Plaza and garment factories, are not met by Sunday.
“We demand that owner of the building (Rana Plaza) Sohel Rana be held by April 28. We’re calling for a countrywide dawn-to-dusk hartal for May 2 if the owners of the building and garment factories housed in the building are not arrested within April 28,” said the Marcha coordinator Moshrefa Mishu.
She was speaking at a press conference orgnasied by the Morcha at its Topkhana Road office in protest against the killing of workers in the building collapse.
Ganosanghati Andolon coordinator Zonayed Saki, Biplobi Workers Party presidium member Nasiruddin Ahmed Nasu, Communist League general secretary Mosharraf Hossain Nannu and Bangladesher Samajtantrik Andolon convener Hamidul Haque were, among others, present.
Taking a swipe at the government, Mishu said, “Though ministers and MPs were present at the spot during the rescue operation, they wasted time in delivering speeches instead of working out plans to speed up the rescue drive.”
She also blamed Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir for trying to hide the real culprits through his unguarded speeches.
Mishu alleged that Sohel Rana was allowed to flee the spot soon after the incident. “A hide-and-seek game is on without arresting the culprits.”
She said they supported the daylong strike called by eight organisations of garment workers in all RMG factories across the country on Sunday.
The other demands of the Morcha include bringing to book and ensuring due punishment to those responsible for the incidents like devastating fire at Tazreen and Rana Plaza collapse, publishing a list of the workers killed, injured and went missing in the Savar tragedy, giving adequate compensation to those killed, including missing ones, bearing medical expenses of the injured workers by the state and rehabilitation of those got disabled, fixing the minimum wage at TK 8,000 for the RMG workers, allowing unionism in all factories and Export Processing Zones (EPZs), annulment of the provisions of labour laws going against the interests of the workers, and putting an end to wage discrimination against women workers and making the six-month materiality leave mandatory in all factories.
Source: UNB Connect
