RMG workers end 2-day protest after deal struck

Army men visit the spot on the city's Rokeya Sarani where garment workers stage a demonstration yesterday following the closure of a sweater factory in Mirpur.Photo: STAR

Life in most part of the capital's Mirpur came to a virtual standstill yesterday as several thousand garment workers took to the streets for the second day and demonstrated until their leaders asked them to withdraw in the evening following a meeting with the BGMEA and the owner of a garment factory, the closure of which led to the trouble.
Agitating workers of SQ Group and other factories left the road at around 7:35pm after their leaders read out the decisions taken at a day-long negotiation with the chairman of SQ Sweaters Ltd that owns the factory, and leaders of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at its office.
The workers began their demonstration Wednesday morning and continued till evening as the authorities closed the factory at Sheorapara following a two-day strike by the workers enraged at the death of a co-worker, and agitating for realisation of several demands.
The agitation joined by workers from around 50 garment factories yesterday was peaceful, excepting a brief clash between police and workers in front of the Police Staff College at Mirpur Section-14 at around 2:00 pm.
Police clubbed and dispersed the demonstrators as they vandalised some 10 vehicles on the main road in the area. The workers also pelted police with stones for a short while.
Thousands of residents of the area found it difficult to reach their destinations during the morning rush hours as vehicles could only ply through Mirpur Section-1. And after office hours, a large number of people had to walk their way back home.
BGMEA leaders said factories in the areas, which were closed due to the demonstrations, incurred huge losses. They however could not give any estimate of the losses right now.
Workers of almost all factories in Mirpur area skipped work since 8:00am to express solidarity with the demonstrating workers and barricaded Rokeya Sarani from Mirpur-10 roundabout to Sheorapara, and the road leading to Mirpur-14 from Mirpur-2 via Mirpir-10 roundabout.
They did not allow any motorised vehicles through the road, nor rickshaws.
A large number of police in riot gear were seen at different points but they did not intercept the workers.
Many shops and business establishments were either closed or kept their shutters partially down.
Workers of many other garments including Moonlight, Rolex Fashion Ltd, Radester and BMB joined the demonstration. They alleged that the factory owners forced them to work overtime but did not pay for it properly, stopped providing treatment facilities for sick workers and did not pay wages and over time bill in due time.
They also demanded pay rise saying that they are finding life too difficult now due to skyrocketing prices of rice and some other essentials.
BGMEA-OWNER-WORKERS' LEADERS
The tripartite meeting between the chairman of SQ Group, BGMEA leaders and workers' leaders decided to form a committee to investigate whether a female worker (Salma) of SQ Sweater Ltd was killed or she died as she was not given, said BGMEA leaders.
Salma's co-workers alleged that the authorities had forced her to work at night shift on December 30, 2007, although she was ill. As her condition deteriorated, she was taken home at around 3:00am and she died an hour later.
The meeting also decided that the SQ Group chairman will handover the compensation money --Tk 100,000 -- to the family members of Salma very soon.
“We have reached a consensus at the negotiation and we have withdrawn our agitation programme from today. The abnormal situation at the SQ Group emerged from a misunderstanding,” said workers' leader Zahidul Islam Zahid at a press briefing after the closed-door meeting with SQ Group Chairman Gulam Faruque, BGMEA President Anwar-Ul-Alam Chowdhury (Parvez) and other leaders.
Whether Salma was killed or she died due to other reasons would be investigated by the committee members in the next three months, Zahid said.
He urged the chairman of the SQ Group to re-appoint soon the workers forced to resign as the agitation began on December 30.
At the briefing, Gulam Faruque said he will re-open the factory in one or two days but kept mum on re-appointment of the retrenched workers.
He urged the workers to join their duties.
The SQ Group has suffered loss of both money and reputation due to the workers' agitation over a very simple incident, he said.
He also said his factory might also lose orders from foreign buyers due to this.
Parvez said the probe body will comprise officials of SQ Group, DGFI, DMP, workers' leaders, leaders of the BGMEA and other authorities concerned both in government and private sectors.
“But the factory will run in two-shifts until submission of the investigation report. The committee is scheduled to submit its report in three months,” Parvez said.
The committee will also see if it is reasonable to run the factory in two shifts or not, he said.
“The next decision about the operation of the factory will be taken on the basis of the committee report,” Parvez said.