Garment workers staging a sit-in in front of Srom Bhaban on Friday rejected the labour adviser’s statement and announced a hunger march with empty utensils in the afternoon.
They said if their demands remain unmet, they plan to submit a memorandum to the chief adviser, reports Bangla Tribune.
During their press conference at 11:30am, leaders of TNZ Group’s workers and employees voiced their objections to the adviser’s remarks regarding their unpaid wages and bonuses.
Shafiqul Islam, a worker from Apparel Plus Eco Limited, presented a written statement at the conference.
In his address, he said that the adviser blatantly misrepresented the issue of workers’ dues, which the working community refuses to accept.
He declared that they have taken to the streets once again and will not return home until their demands are met.
Shafiqul further outlined the outstanding payments owed by three factories, saying that out of Tk675 crore in unpaid wages, only Tk105 crore was paid on Thursday.
Worker representatives informed journalists that a tripartite agreement had previously been reached between factory owners, workers and the government regarding three months’ unpaid salaries, Eid bonuses and other demands of the workers of Apparel Plus Eco Limited, TNZ Apparels Limited and Apparel Art Limited.
However, factory owners violated the agreement, prompting workers to stage a peaceful sit-in protest in front of Srom Bhaban Labor since Saturday, they said.
On the third day of protests, workers attempted to march peacefully towards the Ministry of Labour to submit a memorandum after receiving no response from authorities.
However, police intervened, used tear gas shells and physically assaulted workers, they claimed.
Student leader Dilip Roy was among those beaten and 20 injured workers received medical treatment, the protesters said.
Worker leaders said the labour secretary had assured them that all payments would be settled by Thursday noon.
However, despite repeated calls, he did not respond.
Instead, that evening, the labour adviser held a press briefing where he claimed that the factory owners had sold vehicles to pay the workers’ dues, a statement the workers strongly refuted.
At the press conference, worker representatives dismissed the adviser’s claims as inconsistent with reality.
They questioned the value of the vehicles and how it compared to the actual dues owed to workers.
They alleged that the factory owners had paid only 70% of January’s salary yet falsely claimed that all payments had been made.
According to the workers, TNZ Apparels Limited owes Tk347 lakh for February salaries, Tk347 lakh for March salaries and Tk169 lakh in Eid bonuses.
Apparel Plus Eco Limited, with 826 employees, has unpaid wages amounting to Tk143 lakh for January, Tk143 lakh for February and Tk143 lakh for March, in addition to Tk70 lakh in Eid bonuses, Tk125 lakh in leave compensation, and Tk60 lakh in food allowance, they said.
The total outstanding amount is Tk675 crore, of which only Tk105 crore was paid on Thursday, the workers added.
Apparel Art Limited, with 240 workers, has pending payments of Tk40,82,000 for December salaries, Tk41,15,000 for January, Tk41,57,000 for February, Tk41,62,000 for March, Tk24,21,000 in Eid bonuses and Tk14,80,000 in leave compensation.
The press conference was attended by representatives from various labour organizations, including Garments Workers Liberation Movement, Garments Workers Union, OSK Garments and Textile Workers Federation, Sweater Garments Workers Federation, Garments Workers Unity Forum, Bangladesh Textile Workers Federation, Garments Workers Solidarity, Garments Workers Trade Union, Revolutionary Workers Solidarity, Labor Movement, Socialist Workers Front, National Workers Federation Bangladesh, Democratic Workers Movement, Bangladesh Workers Federation, Bangladesh Trade Union Federation, and Bangladesh Textile and Garments Workers Federation.
Workers reaffirmed their commitment to continuing protests until all outstanding payments are made.
Earlier, on Tuesday, Labour and Employment Adviser Brigadier General (Retd) M Sakhawat Hussain warned garment factory owners to clear workers' salaries by Thursday or face strict measures, including legal action and potential travel bans.
