BANGLADESH NEWS
The crisis stemming from the garment workers' unrest in Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital will end by Saturday, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian said yesterday.
Around 300 factories in the industrial zone were shut down on Sunday for an indefinite period after a series of violence by readymade garment workers demanding a hike in wages.
The owners said they would reopen the factories if government authorities assured them of safety and demanded that legal action be taken against those who had instigated the "anarchy".
Following a three-hour meeting with garment owners, members of parliament of the area, labour leaders and intelligence agencies at the ministry, Monnujan Sufian said it was not wages hike but something else which had caused the unrest.
Investigations are on to find out the reasons behind the unrest, she told journalists, adding that she had ordered law enforcers to identify the "instigators" and bring them to book.
The minister said she had asked the garment owners to reopen their factories in Ashulia and advised the workers to work properly. She would again sit with labour leaders today.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters' Association (BKMEA) decided to shut down the factories in the face of continuous demonstrations by workers from June 11 for a pay hike.
BGMEA President Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said efforts were underway to find a solution to the crisis.
"We did not set up factories for keeping them closed," he noted. The authorities never tried instigators of any instance of labour unrest from 2006 and that is why people had dared to create such a situation.
"We don't want to file cases in wholesale manner," Mohiuddin said, adding it was not difficult to identify the culprits as intelligence agencies had video footage and CCTV cameras inside the factories must have captured evidence.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Home Shamsul Hoque Tuku at the secretariat said police had been kept on high alert to ensure safety in Ashulia.
"The ongoing crisis will be solved through discussions with workers and owners,” he said.
The government is playing the role of a referee between workers and owners of the garment factories. They only care about their own interests, which resulted in the stalemate, he added.
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