At least 127 medium or small scale ready-made garment factories in the capital’s outskirts Savar area have been closed down in last one year due to worker unrest, factory vandalism and declaration of new pay scale for the sector’s workers as well as the political turmoil centring the January 5 general elections.
Consequently, around 32,000 workers of the industrial belt, particularly for the RMG units, lost their jobs although half of them managed to get job in other factories but the others had unfortunately remained unemployed or forced to change their profession.
Confirming the information, Ashulia Industrial Police Director Mostafizur Rahman said their record from September last year has noticed that the RMG owners there had been forced to shut down their factories in the face of the untoward incidents.
60% of them were enlisted with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) while the rest was small criterion without registration, which were largely dependent on sub-contract order of big factories, the director continued.
Sources at Ashulia industrial Police said there are about nine lakh workers in more that 800 factories in the area. Only in December, about 54 RMG factories had been shuttered down in the area because of failing to deliver the order timely owing to the aforesaid untoward incidents.
Md Shafiul Alam, managing director of Intracu Fashion ltd situated in Bholivadra area, said they fell in credit crunch because of lessening the orders as the buyers faced a great obstacle in the movement during the nationwide hartals and blockade programmes enforced by the then BNP-led 18-party alliance centring the January 5 national polls.
Finally, the authorities forced to close down the factory in December when it failed to pay the workers.
Anther Managing Director named Kabirul Hasan at Liberty Fashion ltd in Jirani area blamed the political turmoil as well for the shutdown of their unit that employed 4,000 workers.
Besides, about 73 sub-contract based RMG factories of Hemayetpur area were shuttered down due to worker unrest demanding implementation of the new pay scale while it was dully impossible for the owners to apply the scale with the limited profit.
On the other hand, the big factories had forced their workers to give more time after implementing the pay scale, resulting in gradual lessening the sub-contract orders of the small factories.
