In this time of woes triggered by coronavirus scare, readymade garment and other industrial workers have been staging demonstrations for the last few days demanding their due wages and arrears.
Their continuous protests in and around the capital and its adjacent districts have posed a great threat of intensified Covid-19 crisis in the country as the garment workers are advancing towards uncertain future scenarios.
Many garment and other industrial workers have lost their jobs without getting their arrears, and such financial hardship forced them to continue demonstrations in different industrial areas. The beleaguered garment and industrial workers are seemingly more afraid of starvation than contracting coronavirus.
The general holiday announcement by the government triggered panic among garment workers, most of whom earlier left Dhaka now continuously returning to their respective workplaces.
On Saturday, workers continued their protests and blocked Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur demanding to reappoint in their existing positions and pay their remaining dues. Despite a nationwide lockdown to combat the spread of the deadly disease they pledged not to leave the roads unless their demands are fully met.
Experts opined that such massive movement during the lockdown will increase the spread of coronavirus manifold.
World Bank former lead economist Dr Zahid Hussain told The Bangladesh Post, “If Bangladesh wants to come out of lockdown, it first needs a better estimate of detected infected persons. It is so much difficult to ensure health safety or social distancing in RMG’s factories.”
“If proper health protection of workers cannot be ensured there, then we will fall in serious trouble. It will create a chance to spread this virus at the community level,” Hussain mentioned.
Leaders of the National Garment Workers Federation urged the factory owners to pay the dues of workers and in this pandemic situation, not to fire anyone from their jobs.
On Wednesday International Labour Organisation (ILO) in its ‘ILO Monitor third edition Covid-19 and the world of work’ showed, due to the coronavirus outbreak 1.6 billion workers which is nearly half of the global workforce stand in immediate danger of having their livelihoods destroyed.
On the other hand, for the sixth consecutive day, ignoring rain and coronavirus fear RMG workers’ influx to the capital and its suburbs continued. People from 21 southern districts kept rushing towards Dhaka and its adjacent areas.
Based on our correspondent news, people mostly RMG workers were seen crossing the river Padma through Paturia-Dulatdia, Kathalbari-Shimulia and other ferry routes to reach their respective workplaces in Dhaka, Gazipur, Savar and other adjacent places.
A RMG worker at the ferry terminal said, “From factory we were informed to be at the workplace, otherwise they will cut 40 percent of our March salary.”
BIWTC’s deputy manager at Shimulia ferry terminal told journalists that, people started crossing the river since Saturday morning and most of them were garment workers. Passengers’ pressure continued for the last couple of days towards Dhaka.