Workers of a garment factory declared closed in Gazipur have allegedly assaulted the Deputy Managing Director (DMD) for not receiving one month's arrears of salary and service benefits. The incident took place in Chandra area of ​​Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur on Thursday (November 29) afternoon. Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) expressed 'concern and condemnation' in a press release on Friday (November 29) about this.
It has been reported that Rafi Mahmud, Deputy Managing Director (DMD) of Mahmud Jeans and Mahmud Denim Limited of Kaliakair Upazila, was injured in the beating of the workers.
Condemning and expressing concern over the attack, BGMEA said the garment industry had just recovered from a challenging period. At such a time, some miscreants named as workers are attacking the factory authorities in Mahmud Jeans factory located in Chandra area of ​​Kaliakair upazila of Gazipur.
Secretary General of GMEA. According to the press release signed by Faizur Rahman, Mahmud Jeans Limited is a compliant factory. In 2022, US-based buying company Coles booked Mahmud Jeans Limited for a 1-year purchase order and the factory bought yarn worth Tk 120 crore. Meanwhile, buyer Coles suspended orders for 52 weeks due to the Russia-Ukraine war. As soon as the company was unable to recover from the problem of coronavirus, the company was hit by this blow, apart from that, the factory was not getting enough gas beforehand. In this situation, a good quality factory is forced to close down.
The notification also said that the closure of the factory was announced as per the decision of a tripartite meeting led by the Department of Factories held at Shram Bhavan on October 9. According to the decision of the meeting, on October 23, the workers of the factory were paid Rs 3.15 crore for the wages of September. 2 crore was also paid from the outstanding wages of the staff on November 16. According to the agreement, around Tk 20 crore towards final dues, service benefits and leave money of the workers and staff was to be paid yesterday on November 28.
'To pay this amount, the factory owner finalized the process of selling his house in Gulshan. However, due to non-payment, the workers failed to pay dues on November 28. The owner also discussed the matter with the labor leaders. Accordingly, BGMEA promised to pay all outstanding dues of the factory on December 28 and January 26. The matter was informed by letter to all parties including the law and order forces.
BGMEA says that it is a very sad thing that the son of the factory owner, Mr. Rafi Mahmood was talking to the workers. At that time, some provocateurs, miscreants named as workers suddenly attacked him and injured him and detained him in the factory. Later, the patrolling army and industrial police rescued Rafi Mahmud who was detained in the factory. Such an attack is unintended in the discussion.
BGMEA feels that such arrogance is a blow to the entire industry. The industry that is the driving force of the country's economy, the industry that has directly provided employment to 4 million workers, and that industry that has indirectly addressed the livelihood of 50 million people in the country, this injury is not at all desirable. This incident will give a wrong message about the industry of this country to the outside world.
In the circular, BGMEA called upon the law enforcement agencies to actively cooperate in maintaining good law and order in the garment industry.
