Unrelenting export industry unrest invites the prime minister’s intervention as widespread agitations on wage-hike demand paralyzed key industrial belts with closure of at least 469 garment factories on Tuesday.
Police-protesters clashes during the demonstrations in Gazipur, Ashulia, Narayanganj and Mirpur brought traffic to a standstill for hours, putting commuters in abject suffering, witnesses said.
In a major development, meanwhile, BGMEA president Mahmud Hasan Khan called on Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Tuesday late evening and briefed him on the overall situation.
“He also requested measure so that newly formed wage board calls its meeting immediately and announces the new pay structure in line with the labour law,” a leader of the owners and exporters’ association said.
According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), 199 factories in Gazipur, 191 in Ashulia, 59 in Mirpur, and 20 in Narayanganj were forced to declare holiday for the day after workers left production lines post-joining.
With workers attempting to block roads and clashing intermittently with police, twelve platoons of paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) deployed in Gazipur and Narayanganj.
Workers from several factories gathered at Padmar crossing, near the Hemayetpur-Singair road, around noon and moved away after police persuaded, witnesses and law-enforcers said.
But, at around 3:30pm, they blocked Dhaka-Aricha Highway in the Hemayetpur and demonstrated which triggered long traffic tailbacks on both sides of the highway, leaving commuters stranded.
After about two hours, around 5:40pm, they withdrew the blockade.
Garment workers attempted to block the Dhaka-Tangail Highway at several points in Gazipur, bringing traffic on parts of the road close to a halt and prompting the deployment of additional law- enforcement personnel.
Earlier, around 9:30am, workers blocked the highway in Naojor area of Gazipur when they set on fire roadside wastes, bringing vehicular movement between Joydebpur Chowrasta and Naojor intersection to a complete halt.
Witnesses said even small vehicles, including auto-rickshaws and motorcycles, were barred from passing while protesters also prevented journalists from taking photographs and recording videos.
Workers from several factories in Bhogra, Palli Bidyut and Chandra also attempted to take to the highway but were dispersed by law- enforcement personnel.
Speaking to journalists at the Secretariat, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed warned of strict legal action against anyone attempting to forcibly shut down factories or incite instability.
He alleged that elements linked to the ousted regime were stirring up trouble to aggrandize political interests and assured that steps were underway to reopen closed units, emphasizing that workers’ demands were already being addressed through the newly formed Minimum Wage Board.
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, BTUS President Chowdhury Ashikul Alam and General Secretary Rajat Biswas stated that workers have been driven to the streets due to high prices of essential food items, energy, housing, and healthcare.
Additionally, the international rights-group Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC) urged global fashion brands sourcing from Bangladesh to publicly support the workers’ demand for a Tk 32,000 monthly minimum wage, absorb the resulting labour-cost increases, and end practices like blacklisting and union-busting
“Alongside a minimum wage increase, workers are demanding an end to practices like blacklisting and union-busting,” it said, adding these demands should be taken up by the newly formed Wage Board.
The CCC called on all brands sourcing from Bangladesh to publicly commit to continuing sourcing from Bangladesh after the new minimum wage increase while called on their suppliers, the BGMEA and the BKMEA, to support and implement the Tk 32,000-per-month increase and fully absorb the higher labour costs in their purchasing prices.
The government has directed the minimum wage board for readymade garment (RMG) sector to finalise a new pay structure by December, raising expectations that a new minimum wage would be announced soon, industry leaders said on Tuesday.
They also said garment factories would reopen on Wednesday morning and run on their regular schedules as the government assured them of security at the factories.
The industry leaders made the remarks while talking to the media after a meeting with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman at his office in the afternoon and another with senior journalists at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in the evening.
A vice-president of the BGMEA said they had received assurances from the highest level of the government that the new wage structure would be finalised by December. The wage board might begin negotiations on Wednesday, he added.
“We are ready to implement the new wage structure,” he said.
After the meeting at the Sonargaon Hotel, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said they hoped the wage board would hold its first meeting on Wednesday to send a positive message to workers.
Source: https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/politics/factories-shut-again-as-workers-stage-demos
