“Denied leave” sick worker dies, Dhaka-Chittagong highway blocked

Staff Correspondent :
Garment workers blocked the Dhaka-Chittagong highway at Narayanganj’s Bandar area in protest over the death of a female garment worker from Larij Fashion Limited. Workers say the woman had been denied leave while ill, was forced to come to work, and later died. The deceased is Rina, 30. She was the daughter of Dulal from Pakundia in Kishoreganj district and worked as an operator in the sewing section of the factory. On Monday, from about 10:00 a.m., protesting workers blocked the highway in front of the factory in the Madanpur area of the upazila for nearly three hours. The blockade caused severe traffic congestion for several kilometers along the road. According to workers and police at the scene, Rina fell ill on Sunday while working in the sewing section and was first taken to a local hospital. When her condition worsened she was transferred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, where she later died.

Workers claim that Rina had asked factory management for leave when she fell sick but was refused. Forced to continue working, her health deteriorated further, they say. Asked about the allegation, Larij Fashion’s CEO Mohammad Shimul said, “Yesterday one of our workers fell ill and we immediately took her to a local hospital. When her condition worsened she was taken to Dhaka Medical Hospital, where she died. There was no negligence on our part. We did everything we could, and we arranged all the funeral and burial procedures from the company. No one is responsible for death in that sense. We have spoken with the worker’s family and promised them all possible assistance. The company will also provide financial aid. The workers demanded that the floor supervisors be dismissed; we agreed to that, but they still blocked the road.”

OC Liaqat Ali of Bandar Police Station said that the workers protested alleging the owners were responsible for their colleague’s death. Police from the local station, the highway police and the industrial police went to the scene and dispersed the demonstrators. Traffic on the highway has now returned to normal.