RMG owners to shut units if the unrest continues

Résumé détaillé

As the labour unrest for a wage hike is entering its third week in major garment industrial belts, factory owners have threatened to shut their units indefinitely under the Labour…

As the labour unrest for a wage hike is entering its third week in major garment industrial belts, factory owners have threatened to shut their units indefinitely under the Labour Act if the situation does not improve.

At an emergency meeting at its Uttara office on Wednesday evening, leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) discussed ways to break the deadlock. Factory owners from Ashulia, Savar, and Gazipur and several former presidents of the trade body were also present.

Most participants favoured invoking section 13(1) of the Labour Act, which allows employers to stop work and withhold wages under the principle of “no work, no pay”, BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan told The Daily Star yesterday.

“If the situation in the industrial zones does not improve soon, we will be forced to follow section 13(1) of the Labour Act [no work, no pay] to save our industries,” he said.

Production has been severely disrupted as groups of workers have vandalised factories or stayed away from work, demanding higher wages.

Over the past two weeks, an average of nearly 300 factories remained closed each day amid fears of vandalism, BGMEA data showed. Yesterday, 204 factories in Ashulia, Savar, and Gazipur were shut.

The unrest has also alarmed international clothing retailers and brands, which depend on timely deliveries in an intensely competitive market, Mahmud said.

Delayed shipments could force suppliers to pay for costly air freight, offer steep discounts or face order cancellations, he added.

He urged workers and union leaders to act responsibly, noting that a wage board was already working to revise the minimum pay.

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