Owners threaten lockout from today if workers stay away

Garment factories in areas hit by labour unrest will shut indefinitely from today under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006, if workers do not return, the BGMEA and BKMEA an-nounced on Saturday, with no wages payable during the closure. 

Police the same day used batons, tear gas and sound grenades to clear a workers’ highway blockade in Gazipur.

Production has been disrupted for up to 12 days at 147 member factories amid protests over the minimum wage.

BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan made the announcement at a joint press conference with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) at the BGMEA headquarters in Uttara, Dhaka.

Under the provision, workers are not entitled to wages while a factory is closed. Mahmud Ha-san said owners could invoke it from today if they were unable to operate in a safe and normal environment. 

“Ensuring workers’ return to work and maintaining factory security are now the top priorities,” he said.

He said production had been disrupted for seven to 12 days in several factories, particularly in Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur. Of the 147 BGMEA-member factories unable to maintain full-scale production, 55 in those three areas have already been closed indefinitely under Section 13(1). Production at the other 92 was disrupted by worker protests.

“If the situation continues, the country’s leading export-earning sector could face a major cri-sis,” he warned.

The BGMEA president alleged that a small group of workers, “influenced and instigated by out-side quarters”, was creating disorder inside factories and stopping others from working. 

He claimed that groups had left their workplaces, gathered outside other factories, thrown bricks and other objects, and tried to force workers out. He said this had created fear and inse-curity inside factories.

“A certain group is engaged in an attempt to create a chaotic situation in this industry,” he said. He added that most workers wanted to return to work in peace, and that the unrest was dam-aging the industry’s international image and the national economy.

The BGMEA and BKMEA urged the government to take swift and effective steps to restore law and order in the affected industrial zones. 

They also asked all stakeholders, including owners, labour organisations, civil society and the media, to play responsible and constructive roles.

On wages, Mahmud Hasan said employers’ representatives would submit their proposal at the Minimum Wage Board’s third meeting tomorrow. 

However, he said that whether employers would take part in the board’s discussions would be decided after consultations if disorder and security concerns at factories continued.

The government formed the board on 1 November to set the minimum wage for garment workers. At its second meeting last Monday, the workers’ representative proposed a minimum monthly wage of Tk32,000. Garment workers have been protesting since last month, demand-ing higher pay.

Police on Saturday dispersed garment workers blocking the Dhaka–Tangail highway in Kal-iakair, Gazipur, ending a blockade of nearly four hours. Workers began it around 8:30am near Chandra Palli Bidyut, halting traffic in both directions.

Police and workers said employees of Tropical and Apex Lingerie had protested on Thursday, when several were injured as police fired tear gas and sound grenades. 

On Saturday morning a rumour spread that one of the injured had died; the death has not been independently confirmed. Workers stopped work and occupied the highway. 

Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) tried talks, but police used force when workers re-fused to leave. 

Workers regrouped at nearby Mouchak and were dispersed again around 12:30pm, after which traffic resumed.

“When news of a death spread this morning, we were frightened,” said worker Kabir Hossain. “We want our fair demands met, including a wage increase.” Md Amjad Hossain, superinten-dent of police of the Gazipur industrial area, said 17 factories around Chandra and Mouchak were given a holiday.

Factory authorities in Savar and Ashulia declared about 40 factories closed indefinitely, citing agitation, strikes and instability. Several notices invoked Section 13(1); workers at factories merely declared closed are entitled to pay. 

Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police (Ashulia Industrial Police-1), said at 1:30pm that 18 factories had been closed under Section 13(1), 17 of them indefinitely, and five verbally, while seven had given holidays. Twelve more gave holidays as workers did not turn up. About 59 factories were not operating in all.

They include all Losaka Group factories at Jirabo Pukurpar, Ashulia. Workers from other facto-ries hurled bricks at its Beak Knit Limited on Thursday, prompting a holiday; a Friday notice closed all its factories from Saturday, citing a “chaotic” situation over wage demands. 

A woman operator there said, “The trouble was at the factory next door. Outsiders came, broke our gate and beat up the guards. We are suffering because of others.”

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Khairul Mamun of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweater Workers Trade Union Centre said on-ly 12 to 14 factories had real problems, including unpaid wages, work pressure and misconduct. 

He alleged outsiders exploited the anger and owners were now taking advantage, and urged the government to ensure no workers are laid off.

On Friday, an alliance of five labour organisations urged workers at a joint press conference to be patient, show restraint and return to work. 

Its leaders said the board was already working towards a fair wage and that workers should avoid action that could disrupt the process or be swayed by provocation. 

They also urged owners to keep the door open for dialogue, saying that although protests con-tinued in a few areas, the problems should be resolved through discussion.

To secure industrial areas, 36 BGB platoons have been deployed: 14 in Savar and Ashulia, three in Mirpur, nine in Narayanganj and 10 in Gazipur. Two special patrols are also operating in Na-rayanganj.