Thousands of readymade garment (RMG) workers today continued to protest for the fourth consecutive day in a row demanding payment of wages for March, a situation that may intensify the spread of pandemic coronavirus. On Wednesday, garment workers staged demonstrations in the city’s Mirpur, Badda, Mohakhali, Uttara, and other parts of the city to press home the demand for clearing their arrears.
The workers of the ‘Needs Fashions LTD’ and ‘Amichi Apparels LTD’ took to the streets at Darus Salam around 8:30 am today in support of their demand, said Mostafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Police Station. Hundreds of workers of the Samsur Rizia Fashions Limited factory blocked the roads and demanded payment of arrears.
Workers of Redwantex and Apparel's Garment protested to realize their wages by blocking the roads of the capital’s airport circle and Jasim Uddin road. Later, they left the streets in the hope of getting payment of their salaries by the garment owners. Workers of Chittagong Fashions Limited at Kafrul demonstrated on the roads for similar demand. Workers of that factory said, to prevent the spread, factory owners shut down their unit. They were assured that they would be paid their salaries within the scheduled time, but the owners are taking the tactic of delaying their payment again.
A large part of the garment workers left Dhaka when the government announced general holidays to prevent the spread of coronavirus and similarly without having any confirmation from the factory owners they came back to the capital and its adjacent area on April 4. All these activities by the workers have posed the threat of increasing risk of spreading coronavirus as they were violating the health guideline of maintaining the social distancing while some of them staged demonstrations for wages.
Foreign fashion retailers have shut stores across the globe as part of social-distancing measures. Such compelling step is rippling through fashion’s supply chain, putting at risk the livelihoods of garment workers. This has resulted in cancellation of huge export orders of the country’s RMG factories. According to doctors, when a 3-meter distance from one person to another is mandatory, such outrage is raising the threat of spreading coronavirus.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has announced the incentive for garment workers. The announcement of Tk 5000 crore was made to ensure at least three months’ salary of the garment workers. Responding to Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) direction, till now more than 917 factories have paid their workers' salaries. However, all factories are supposed to pay their workers’ salaries by April 16.
The state minister for labor warned that stern legal action would be taken against the factory owners who will fail to pay workers before 16 April. According to Industrial Police, some 467 out of 1,356 factories in Savar, Ashulia and Dhamrai areas paid workers wages for March. Aamirul Haque Amin, president of the Garment Workers Federation, in a written statement said, “Workers are constantly being retrenched and discharged from different factories across the country. Despite the government’s incentive package, such behavior from factory owners cannot be accepted”.