Jute mill workers go on symbolic hunger strike

Workers of nine state-owned jute mills in the Khulna-Jashore industrial belt staged a symbolic hunger strike yesterday to press home their 11-point demand, including payment of due salary and implementation of a wage commission.

The protest began around 8:00am and the workers took up positions in front of the main gates of the jute mills. The strike ended at 4:00pm.

The government announced a wage board or jute mill workers on June, 2015, but it was yet to be implemented.

Over thirty-one thousand workers (permanent and on daily basis) have been working in the nine state-owned jute mills.

Their demonstration was part of their seven-day agitation programme, announced under the banner of the “State-owned Jute Mills Collective Bargaining Association (CBA) and Non-CBA Sangram Parishad” on November 17 in Dhaka.

Their demands include cancelling of public-private ownership, payment of provident fund gratuity for retired workers, regularising weekly wages and implementing the wage board, and payment of outstanding bills. They also demanded that the government buy jute products for other sectors.

Workers of Daulatpur, Khalishpur, Crescent, Platinum and Star jute mills took part in hunger strike.

Workers of Alim and Eastern jute mills also went on hunger strike in Atra industrial area of the city.

In Jashore, workers of Jashore Jute Industry and Carpeting Jute Mills Ltd went on a hunger strike in Rajghat area.

Khalilur Rahman, former president of CBA of Platinum jute mill told The Daily Star that the workers would not stop the protest at any cost, because most were outraged as the national wage commission had not been implemented in five years.

“This symbolic hunger strike is part of the demonstration and will continue until the wage commission is implemented”, he added.