'Apparel workers must be paid 100% wages despite lockdown'

Bangladesh Garment Workers Solidarity on Saturday demanded that full wages be paid to apparel workers amid the ongoing lockdown to curb the rapid spread of coronavirus.

The organization's central steering committee issued a statement on the day, which was signed by Taslima Akhter, its president, and Julhas Nain Babu, its general secretary.

They also demanded that both the apparel factory owners and government take responsibility of workers' wellbeing during the lockdown, adding that although government officials took salaries and other benefits without being physically present in their respective offices, the workers did not have the same facility.

Terming workers as a resource of the country, the statement further said that the industry will survive if the workers are saved.

Expressing concern over the sharp rise in deaths and infections of coronavirus, the organization stressed the need of conducting larger-scale of tests of the workers.