The Press Information Department has sent a message to electronic media claiming that "TNZ Group’s cars have been sold to pay workers' salaries and allowances."
The statement has been widely discussed on social media since Thursday afternoon, and if this were true, workers who had been protesting for days, demanding their wages, would have been able to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr joyfully.
However, by evening, this hope was dashed as workers reported that many had not received their full payments and some had received nothing at all.
Workers and employees of TNZ Group did not receive their outstanding salaries before Eid.
They had been protesting in front of Srom Bhaban for several days, demanding their due payments. On Wednesday, the government intervened, imposing a travel ban on factory owners and stating that assets could be sold if necessary to clear dues. Then, on Thursday, there was an announcement regarding payments.
However, workers claim that in many cases, only 70% of one month’s salary was paid, while some received nothing.
In response, they announced a press conference for Friday.
Workers of Apparel Plus Eco Ltd, owned by TNZ Group, said they had received 70% of one month’s salary, while the wages for two other months, Eid bonuses and food allowances remained unpaid.
Meanwhile, workers of TNZ Apparels Ltd said they had received no payment at all and were still owed two months’ wages, Eid bonuses and holiday pay.
Masud Mia, a worker at Apparel Plus Eco Ltd, whose salary is Tk20,000, said he was owed three months' salary, Eid bonuses and holiday bills.
After worker protests, he received only Tk15,000 for January via bKash on Thursday, with no assurance for the remaining dues.
He added that many of his colleagues had received nothing, vowing to continue protesting until they were fully paid.
Similarly, Roksana Begum, an employee of Apparel Art Ltd, a sister concern of TNZ Group, said she had not received any salary since January. “I had hoped to get at least two months’ wages along with the Eid bonus, but none of us in my factory were paid. Yet, we have been protesting in front of Srom Bhaban for days."
What do union leaders say?
Iqbal Hossain, general secretary of the “Garment Workers’ Liberation Movement,” said workers from three factories under TNZ Group – Apparel Plus Eco Ltd, TNZ Apparels Ltd and Apparel Art Ltd – had been protesting in front of Srom Bhaban for several days.
“Among them, only Apparel Plus Eco Ltd made partial payments – 70% of January’s salary – on Thursday. However, February and March’s wages, along with Eid bonuses, remain unpaid. At least 50 out of 500 workers received no payment at all, and the other two factories have yet to make any commitments.”
He said workers would discuss their next steps at Friday’s press conference in front of Srom Bhaban.
Meanwhile, Sadequl Rahman, secretary of the Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, criticized the labour adviser for “lying” about wage payments, saying workers had rejected his statement.
Escalating protests
Since Sunday, these workers have been staging demonstrations in Dhaka’s Bijoynagar, at Srom Bhaban, to demand their overdue wages. On the first day, after a worker fell ill, the protestors briefly detained labour officials before releasing them following assurances of payment.
However, when payments were not made, they resumed their protests on Monday, blocking roads in the afternoon but later clearing them.
On Tuesday, they attempted to march from Srom Bhaban to the Secretariat, leading to clashes with police.
Following this, Labour Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) Dr M Sakhawat Hussain announced that wages would be paid by Thursday, prompting the workers to temporarily suspend their sit-in protest for Wednesday.
However, after realizing that their full payments were not made, they resumed their protest in front of Srom Bhaban on Thursday.
Now, they were scheduled to hold a press conference on Friday at the building, where they said they would expose the adviser’s “false claims” and demand their full wages and bonuses.