78 RMG units with 3 lakh workers suspend operations amid protests

Amidst the ongoing garment workers' protests at Ashulia of Savar and in Gazipur, the overall situation remained calm on Saturday as authorities suspended operations of 78 RMG factories employing approximately 300,000 workers, citing Article 13/1 of the labour law.

Of the factories 52 are located at Ashulia, 25 at Konabari of Gazipur and one at the capital's Uttara.

Factory owners said they took the move after back-to-back workers' protests demanding a hike in the minimum wage over the past three weeks that left three dead and scores injured.

SM Mannan Kochi, senior vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told The Business Standard that the number of workers in the 78 closed factories is about three lakh. 

According to BGMEA sources, the list of closed factories includes big garment factories like Hameem Group, Newage Group, Ananta, Envoy, AM Design, Sharmin, Sterling, Bando, The Rose Garments Designer Limited, Setara, Nasssa, Medlar, Generation next. Factories of big groups including Islam Garments, Tusuka Group are closed in Gazipur. Besides, "no vacancy" notices were hung in the factories of that area. Earlier on Thursday night, the BGMEA had decided the factories not to hire new employees.

Many of the workers who did not know about the factory closures were seen returning back home after seeing the notice in front of the factories in Ashulia's Jamgora, Chaytala, Narsinghpur and Nischintapur areas yesterday. Some workers told TBS that they were going to their village homes as the factories will remain suspended.

"From 30 October to 9 November, the factory workers entered the premises in the morning for attendance and left without joining work. They also conducted vandalism both inside and outside the factory premises, causing significant financial damage," one of the notices hung in front of Shamim Group's Sharaf Embroidery and Printing factory in Ashulia reads. 

The notice also said, "It is not possible to continue the company activities under such circumstances, and under Article 13/1 of the labour law, the factory will remain closed for an indefinite period, effective from 11 November."

It also mentioned that the factory will only reopen once the overall situation becomes favourable, and the dates will be conveyed later to everyone concerned.

According to Section 13/1 of the Labour Act, factories can be closed due to illegal strikes. During the shutdown, the workers will not get any salary for that period.

However, a BGMEA leader told TBS on condition of anonymity that in the past many factory owners suspended their operations under the law's section. But they, considering the labour-owner relationship, paid salaries, in the end. 

More arrest of workers

In a press conference in Gazipur's Konabari yesterday, Industrial Zone Police DIG Md Zakir Hossain Khan said 22 cases were registered with police in Gazipur in connection with attacks including vandalism in 123 factories and at least 88 people were arrested so far. According to law enforcement sources, at least four people have been arrested so far in six cases at Ashulia of Savar.

However, labour leaders say that at least 11 workers of a factory at Ashulia were arrested. The number of arrests is much higher than the police claim, they said.

Nazma Akter, president of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, told The Business Standard, "Factory closures, suspension of hiring of workers or filing lawsuits and assaults and house-to-house searches are ill-tactics to prevent labour movement."

Joly Talukder, vice president of Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, told TBS, "The owners themselves said that those who attacked the factory were not workers. However, 11 workers of a factory at Ashulia have been arrested. They [police] are searching from house to house. Going on like this is making the situation more unstable, abnormal."

He further said, "Arrests, attacks, cases (of workers) are not good for the industry. Those who killed workers should be arrested. If we want to bring back the working environment, the issues need to be negotiated, wages should be increased."

Around 1,500 people were made defendants in the previous three cases of the four new cases with the Ashulia police. Sixteen people were named as defendants in four new cases. The number of anonymous people could neither be confirmed by the industrial police nor the Ashulia police.

The industrial police could not give any information about the number of workers in 22 cases in Gazipur. However, a source said that since the identity of the attackers could not be ascertained immediately, the accused have been named as unidentified. Cases were filed with four police stations there. As a result, the actual number of accused is not yet known.

Sarwar Alam, superintendent of industrial police 1 (SP, Ashulia), told TBS, "Sixteen people have been named in one case in Ashulia. The accused in the remaining cases are unidentified."

Worker leaders blaming owners

Worker leaders decried the series of actions, including the indefinite closure of numerous garment factories, the suspension of worker hiring, the arrest of workers, and even police raids on workers' homes, and labelled these as "ill-tactics" aimed at quelling the ongoing movement for wage increases and protesting worker fatalities.

However, the owners do not agree with the allegation that it is an "ill-tactic" to stop the movement. BGMEA leader SM Mannan Kochi told TBS, "There is no question of subterfuge. By keeping the factory closed, the owner is also suffering a huge loss."

Questioning the justification of the allegation, he said the owners cannot do anything that is suicidal for themselves.

Workers still persistent in their demand

Even though the factories' shut down, workers are persistent in their demands for a minimum wage hike.

"The owners may shut down and reopen the factories whenever they want. But our demand remains. We demand [minimum wage] at least Tk17,000 for the helpers and Tk23,000 for the operators," one of the workers of a Sharmim Group factory said. 

Another worker named Rifa said, "It is not possible to survive with a salary that was set five years ago. If you cannot increase the wage, reduce the commodity prices."

The garments sector — the jewel in Bangladesh's export crown, with exports reaching over $46.99 billion in the fiscal year 2023 — was ravaged by protests in recent weeks centring on a hike in the minimum wage.

On 30 October, at least two people were killed and about 40 injured in massive clashes between police and ready-made garment workers in several industrial areas at Ashulia and in Gazipur.

Despite protests from apparel workers demanding a minimum wage of at least Tk20,000, the government on 7 November set it at Tk12,500, in alignment with the proposal put forth by factory owners.

After the sixth meeting of the Minimum Wage Board for the ready-made garment sector on Tuesday, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian said the wage has been hiked by 56% from Tk8,000 following the instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

A section of worker bodies rejected the announced wage, claiming that it fails to keep pace with the rising inflation. Some demanded a fresh wage determination process, while others appealed for the prime minister's intervention.