BGMEA for stern action

The owners of garment factories have expressed concern over the intensity of the unrest among garment workers.
Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said, “It is quite surprising that the workers vandalised the factories and other offices even after the announcement of salary hike.”
The government should deal with the situation with an iron hand, he added.
He also said the owners will reopen their factories today as Labour and Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain assured them of security.
The owners did not expect such mayhem in the garment industry as the wage board was formed comprising all stakeholders.
However, the owners will sit at a meeting very soon to discuss the matter, he said.
Mushrefa Mishu, president of Garment Sramik Oikya Forum, demanded reconstitution of the wage board, as the workers' representative in the board was not appointed from the garment sector.
Earlier, the government formed the wage board to fix the minimum salary for the garment workers in January and appointed Shamsunnahar Bhuiyan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Mohila Sramik League, as the workers' representative.
“The movement erupted with genuine reason,” Mishu said.
She admitted that during the unrest, workers from other sectors like jhut (waste garment) traders also join the garment workers.
As a result, the movement deviated from its aim, she noted.
Besides vandalising garment factories, the agitated workers yesterday rampaged through Gulshan and Banani in the city damaging other offices and shops.