Don't play around with workers' dues
At the time of writing, the workers have continued with their protests including a hunger strike for about a week now. The point simply is this, the employees are not asking for alms, they are demanding their dues. And it is the timely settlement of these which is of the essence here. Why must factory managements accord such a low priority to paying their workers on whom they have to depend for delivering orders and making profits?
However, we note with a degree of relief that the BGMEA is seeking funds on an emergency basis from big companies help clear the dues of Tuba Group workers. It is a welcome positive move but this should not preclude the Tuba group's fundamental responsibility in letting the matters come to such a pass. Their approach to the whole issue has lacked in transparency; it has been downright opaque. Some news reports suggested Tuba group had the capacity to pay but dithered as a ploy. To be sure, the perceived bail of its jailed owner could not be linked to payment of the arrears to workers.
Whilst the conduct of the Tuba group is probed and the responsible penalised, the message all concerned ought to take is that workers must be paid their dues on time without fail.
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