Operation halted at 59 factories in Savar-Ashulia industrial belt

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Operations remained suspended at 59 factories in the Savar and Ashulia industrial belt today amid prolonged labour unrest, with 17 of them declared closed indefinitely. Mohammad…

Operations remained suspended at 59 factories in the Savar and Ashulia industrial belt today amid prolonged labour unrest, with 17 of them declared closed indefinitely.

Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police (SP) of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, shared the information with the media around 1:30pm.

He said 18 factories had been shut under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act due to the unrest. Besides, 17 factories had been closed indefinitely, five had been verbally declared shut, and seven had declared general holidays.

“After work began today, 12 more factories where workers did not join work declared a holiday for the day. If we add these 12 to the previous 47, work is not taking place at a total of 59 factories today,” he said.

The SP said workers would face difficulties if they continued to stay away from work, as many factories remained closed and owners had also suspended operations at several establishments.

The situation remained uncertain, he added, saying the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) was also holding discussions with factory owners over the issue.

He said they had arranged an awareness-raising meeting at their office around 3:00pm today, bringing together industrial police officials, leaders of local garment workers' federations, law enforcement agencies and local dignitaries.

“We will try to convey a message through the meeting. In particular, we want to reach out to workers through their federations and urge them to return to work while maintaining a peaceful environment,” he added.

“If you visit different areas today, you will see that the situation is peaceful everywhere. There have been no incidents of unrest or brickbatting at any factory. The overall situation is normal,” he said.

Inicio del artículo, extracto de The Daily Star. Para leer el resto, abra el artículo en el sitio del medio.