The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association on Tuesday closed down 55 apparel factories in Ashulia on the outskirts of Dhaka.
The association president Siddiqur Rahman at a news conference at its office said they had no other option but closing down the factories as per section 13/1 of the labour law. The section empowers the owners to close down factory amid workers’ unrest without providing them any benefit.
Earlier on the day, the state minister for labour and employment, Mujibul Haque, warned of strict action against the protesting apparel workers of Ashulia industrial belt, if they do not join their works immediately.
‘The demands of the workers is totally illegal and legal steps will be taken against them if they do not return to their works immediately’, he said.
Apparel workers in Ashulia, on the outskirt of Dhaka, had been demonstrating since December 11 demanding for minimum wage of Tk 16,000, ignoring the repeated call of the government to join work. Earlier, addressing a seminar organised on labour condition in Bangladesh at the Daily Star Building in the capital Mujibul Haque also ruled out the possibility of formation fresh wage board for apparel workers in the country on Tuesday.
Mujibul said three years earlier government had formed a new pay scale for garment workers so there is no chance of changing it within next two years. He alleged that some vested group was conspiring to unstable the apparel industry by using the workers.
The government would work over the matter after receiving written demand from the workers, he added. At least 50 apparel factories in Ashulia industrial belt, on the outskirt of Dhaka city, were forced to close on Tuesday in the face of workers demonstrations demanding pay hike.
The workers had been demonstrating since December 11 demanding for minimum wage of Tk 16,000, ignoring the repeated call of the government to join work. Witnesses said at least 10 workers were injured as police charged baton and fired tear-shells on the protesting workers in Jamgora area at Ashulia at 9:30am.
The factory authorities closed the factories as workers went to sign in this morning. Later, the workers tried to block the highway while police restrained them by charging baton and firing tear shells, witnesses said.
The director of Dhaka industrial police, Mostafizur Rahman, said they dispersed the workers as they tried to block the Dhaka-Tangail Highway to normalise vehicular movement in the area. Additional police were deployed in the industrial belt to avoid any untoward incident, he said.
The government in 2013 set the minimum wage for an apparel worker at Tk 5,300 after violent protests had erupted. However, many factories of the area are yet to implement the minimum wage, labour leaders have alleged.
The government and leaders of BGMEA, meanwhile, termed the movement illegal, illogical and a conspiracy against the expanding garment sector.
Source: New Age
