Business Desk :
During Bangabandhu’s era, there was no tax on bidi industry, so the Pabna district bidi workers union demanded withdrawal of bidi duty, withdrawal of advance income tax, stoppage of foreign companies’ low level cigarettes and increase in wages of workers engaged in bidi industry in the next budget. The bidi workers made these demands from the human chain program held in front of the Pabna District Commissioner’s office at around 11:am on Sunday.
At the end of the human chain, the workers presented a memorandum containing four-point demands to the Prime Minister through the Pabna District Commissioner.
The bidi workers in the human chain said that the bidi industry is an ancient labor intensive industry of the country. The door of this industry was opened after independence by the hands of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. He declared this labor intensive industry duty free. 18 lakh poor, abandoned by husbands, physically challenged workers from all over the country including Pabna region earn their living by working in bidi factories. In order to reduce the plight of bidi workers and to protect their work, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said in the budget speech of the Great National Assembly that the tax on bidi should be reduced and the tax on cigarettes should be increased a little more. Therefore, I am calling for the withdrawal of customs duty from the bidi industry during the tenure of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina as during Bangabandhu. At the same time, we demand to withdraw the advance income tax from this industry as it is dependent on indigenous workers.
President of Pabna District Bidi Mazdur Union President Harik Hossain spoke in the human band, President of Bangladesh Bidi Workers Federation Amin Uddin BSC, Vice President Md. Nazim Uddin, Pabna District Bidi Mazdoor Union General Secretary Shamim Islam, Deputy General Secretary Abdul Gafoor, Abul Hasnat Lovelu, Anwar Hossain, Rani Khatun, Co-Organizing Secretary Lutfar Rahman, Pabna District Bidi Mazdoor Union Vice President Alam Hossain, Joint Secretary Dulal Mollya, organizing secretary Dulal Sheikh, treasurer Tokon Roy, labor secretary Chameli Khatun etc.