BGMEA to shut factories if workers don’t start work today

Sayeed Muhammad of DOT
All garment factories in the country will be kept shut for an indefinite period if the protesting workers do not return to their workplaces by today, threatened Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) yesterday.
Under Article 13/1 of the Labour Act, the BGMEA will take such action, said its President Siddiqur Rahman. He was briefing the press in Dhaka. “No work, no pay,” Siddiqur added.
The BGMEA called the emergency press conference over the ongoing labour unrest.
The event was held around 12:30pm to brief the media on the production loss, the challenges in shipment, number of factories that are closed and other issues.
Meanwhile, another meeting was scheduled at the labour ministry with members of the 20-member crisis management committee yesterday afternoon. Later in the day, the government announced a revised wage structure for apparel workers of grades 3, 4 and 5, in an effort to quell the labour unrest that has affected production in the country’s largest forex-earning sector.
Readymade garments workers continued their demonstration for the eighth day today with a break on Friday. The protest began on January 6 over the wage gap.
Even yesterday, at least 10 people were injured when police charged batons and used water cannons to disperse workers, who blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Ashulia this morning protesting the disparity in their new wage structure.
In September last year, the government raised the minimum monthly wage for RMG workers by around 51 percent to Tk 8,000 from Tk 5,300. The new wage took effect in December.
But when workers drew their pay in January, they found a huge disparity, triggering the agitation.
On the third day of the protest, the government assured the workers of addressing the discrimination in a month. The workers, however, refused to leave the streets.