The country’s industrial sector is immersed in various crises. Production is being disrupted due to dearth of gas and electricity.
Many factories are not able to pay salaries and allowances regularly. As a result, labour dissatisfaction is increasing.
The holy Eid-ul-Fitr has already arrived. Workers, employees, and officials are all looking forward to salaries and bonuses, but many factories have not been able to pay them yet.
As a result, more dissatisfaction is growing among the workers. According to a report published in a national daily yesterday, there is a heated situation in the industrial areas over salaries and bonuses, holidays and various other demands.
In fact, the workers are vocal in movements, demonstrations and work stoppage every day. Although the crisis over wages and bonuses has eased somewhat as a result of coordinated efforts at the government’s tripartite committee meeting, some factories are still at risk.
As reported the workers of a garment factory called JMS Garments Limited protested by blocking roads in Chittagong city on Saturday, demanding unpaid wages.
The workers protested in the Freeport area of the city. Later, after a police agreement with the protesting workers, the blockaders moved away from the road and traffic resumed. The factory is located in the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (EPZ).
Meanwhile, workers blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway on Saturday after the authorities of Giant Knit Fashion in Bason area of Gazipur metropolis declared an indefinite shutdown.
As a result, traffic movement was stopped since morning, creating a long severe traffic jam. However, the situation calmed down with the intervention of the police and the army, and traffic on the road returned to normal after two hours.
It is to be noted that the last day to pay Eid bonuses and wages to workers was on Saturday. But the day was a closed day.
Reportedly, 60 percent of the workers have already been paid their wages. 80 percent of the February wages have been paid, and the workers have not received the March salary.
We don’t want workers to take to the streets demanding salaries and bonuses before Eid after working all the year. We expect that the concerned people will take necessary measures before the Eid-ul Fitr celebrations.
