Jute mill workers call off strike
Hopes to get due salaries and wages by April 25
The workers of seven state-owned jute mills in Khulna and Jessore yesterday withdrew their indefinite strike that began 10 days ago over the arrears of salaries and wages.
Mohammad Sohrab Hossain, convener of the CBA and non-CBA Oikya Parishad of the seven jute mills, announced the withdrawal of the strike after a meeting with the minister and the state minister for textiles and jute at the secretariat in the capital.
“As the prime minister has allocated Tk 1,000 crore and the minister and the state minister assured us of clearing all the arrears, we call off the strike right now,” Sohrab told reporters.
He hoped the workers would get their due salaries and wages by April 25.
Leaders of the CBA and non-CBA Oikya Parishad sat in the meeting with Minister Emaz Uddin Pramanik and State Minister Mirza Azam in the afternoon.
After the meeting, the state minister said the jute mill workers will get all the due wages and allowances by April 25.
The ministry is going to take specific measures over the next five years to reduce the losses incurred by Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BGMC), added Azam.
The CBA and non-CBA Oikya Parishad of the seven jute mills -- Crescent Jute Mills, Platinum Jute Mills, Khalispur Jute Mills, Star Jute Mills, Eastern Jute Mills, Jessore Jute Mills and Carpeting Jute Mills -- enforced the strike on April 4.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday asked the finance ministry to allocate Tk 1,000 crore to the textiles and jute ministry for clearing some arrears of the workers.
The workers enforced the strike demanding adequate allocations for the jute industry, payment of their arrears, formation of a wage board and cessation of the move to privatise the state-owned jute mills.