Production suspended at more than 50 garment factories in Ashulia
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Production has been suspended at more than 50 garment factories in the Ashulia industrial zone of Savar amid worker unrest and tensions over a three-point demand, including setting the minimum wage at Tk 30,000.
Workers at least five factories staged work stoppages on Sunday morning without joining their shifts. The authorities later declared holidays at the factories concerned to avoid any untoward incidents.
Superintendent of Police Mominul Islam Bhuiyan of Industrial Police-1 confirmed the matter on Sunday morning.
According to sources, garment workers have been staging protests for a long time over various demands, including setting the minimum wage at Tk 30,000. As part of the ongoing movement, workers at at least five factories in the Ashulia industrial zone stopped work on Sunday morning. In addition, general holidays have been declared at around 40 to 45 garment factories, including AR Jeans, New Age and Continental.
Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweater Workers Trade Union Centre, said a wage board has already been formed to determine the minimum wage and its activities are underway.
He said most workers have returned to their workplaces. However, 40 to 50 garment factories have been kept closed under Section 13(1) of the Labour Act. Under this provision, workers will not receive wages if work remains suspended.
Superintendent of Police Mominul Islam Bhuiyan said workers at five factories staged work stoppages in the morning, while workers at most factories in Ashulia and Savar joined their shifts as usual. No untoward incidents had been reported anywhere up to 11:00 am, he said.
Additional police personnel have been deployed at key points across the industrial zone to maintain control of the situation and prevent disorder.
Earlier, at a joint press conference held by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) at the BGMEA office in Uttara, Dhaka, on Saturday, factory owners announced a tough stance.
They said factories would be closed from Sunday under Section 13(1) of the Labour Act if workers failed to join their shifts. Workers would not receive any wages while factories remained closed under this provision.
In other words, the “no work, no pay” policy would be enforced.
