A meeting between government representatives, garment factory owners and labour leaders yesterday could not reach a consensus about re-opening factories of the Ashulia zone, which was shut down on Monday in the face of labour unrest.
State minister for labour, Monnujan Sufian, chaired the meeting of the “Crisis Management Core Committee, held at the ministry. She talked with factory owners and labour leaders separately in a bid to reach a decision to open the factories by addressing the crisis but the initiative ended without a concrete outcome.
A tri-partite meeting will be held at Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) headquarters in Karwan Bazar on Wednesday.
Former BGMEA chief, Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on labour ministry, Israfil Alam, expressed hopes that a solution would be reached in the meeting.
Mohiuddin said: “The owners did not set up the factories to keep them closed. We want to run them, but the government has to ensure that there is proper environment.”
The business leader claimed that the crisis in the sector is the outcome of a national and international conspiracy. “The labour law states that the minimum wage board is due for garments workers after another two years.
“However, the owners urged the government to form the wage board as the international community is concerned about their minimum wages. A vested group is trying to create unrest under the guise of labour agitations to destroy the garment sector.”
Israfil said, the government is trying to solve the crisis discussing with both owners and labour leaders and a decision will come as soon as possible. They will implement the decision that will come from tomorrow’s meeting after discussing it with central and local labour leaders.
A reliable source who attended the meeting confirmed that owners and labour leaders will announce work resumption at the garments factories after tomorrow’s meeting.
