Desk rteport: Around 177 garment factories in Savar and Ashulia declared holidays at various times today amid unrest over workers’ demands for a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000, an end to blacklisting and other grievances.
Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, confirmed the development to journalists.
He said that although workers took to the streets at different times throughout the day, they did not attack the police. No police personnel were injured, he added.
A worker at one of the factories where protests took place, speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, said, “The wage board has been formed, but we do not know who will represent us on it. Nobody has informed us. Workers at nearby factories, including myself, believe this unrest will continue until the new wages are announced.”
He said they will return to work after the wages are announced.
Another worker, Mizanur Rahman, said, “I would be happy if new wages were announced soon, taking into account the rising cost of living. But stopping work to protest is not the right approach at this point. Many workers are joining the protests without fully understanding the situation.”
Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, told The Daily Star that employers should take the initiative to inform workers about the formation of the wage board, its procedures and its activities. Workers are not clearly aware of these matters. They believe that the new wages will be implemented as soon as the wage board sits.
He said, “We are urging workers to remain patient. The wage board has been formed, and its activities have begun. Negotiations will now start. Once the wages are determined, they will come into effect in December. We need to discuss these matters, but not by halting production. This is the message we are conveying to workers from our side. However, I do not think workers are receiving the message clearly.
“We are trying to explain the situation to those who contact us. However, during the current protests, we have not seen the same level of coordination between workers’ organisations and the employers’ side or the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) as in the past. The kind of coordination seen in industrial areas during previous movements is not evident this time.”
Factory owners could explain the situation directly to workers at their factories and hold discussions with labour leaders outside the factories. However, no such efforts have been evident this time, the labour leader said.
The Daily Star spoke to at least five other labour leaders, who expressed similar views.
Meanwhile, following the formation of the wage board, leaders and activists of a workers’ organisation named Jatiya Garments Sramik Unity held a rally with workers on the Nabinagar-Chandra highway in Ashulia.
Garment workers staged protests in Hemayetpur, Savar, vandalising a factory and blocking the nearby Dhaka-Aricha highway. Protesters also assaulted a local journalist who was filming the incident.
Witnesses said several factories in areas surrounding Hemayetpur sent workers home around noon amid the ongoing labour protests. However, workers at an AKH Group factory in Hemayetpur were still at work.
Around 2:30pm, a group of workers from factories that had declared holidays gathered in front of the AKH Group factory. They asked the workers there to leave the factory. As the workers refused to leave and the factory authorities did not declare a holiday, the protesters entered the factory premises.
They then smashed the factory’s glass panels and the windows of several vehicles parked on the premises. They also set fire to a security booth at the factory’s main gate.
The factory authorities eventually declared a holiday, while police later persuaded the protesters to clear the road.
An official of AKH Group factory said 15-20 workers from a nearby factory, that had declared a holiday, arrived around 2:30pm and vandalised the factory gate. Their number gradually increased to 500-600.
“They entered the factory and vandalised it. They beat up any staff member they could find,” he said.
Meanwhile, protesters beat Gopal Malakar, Savar upazila correspondent for Prime TV, when he went to collect information and film the incident. Police from Savar Model Police Station later rescued him and took him to a safe place.
Asked about the incident, Saiful Alam, officer-in-charge of Savar Model Police Station, said that workers from nearby factories and outsiders had blocked the road.
“Most of those taking part in the protest while wearing masks are outsiders,” he said.
Meanwhile, the government today formed the minimum wage board for garment workers, appointing five new members representing employers, workers and an independent category under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
