25 Closed jute mills: Don’t reopen under govt management

The government while closing 25 state-owned jute mills a year and a half ago had pledged to reopen those, but a parliamentary committee yesterday recommended those be not reopened under government management.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Estimate made the recommendation at a meeting at the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban.

The JS watchdog said there is no reason for the government to "waste money by reopening those jute mills".

The meeting discussed various projects of the Ministry of Textiles and Jute.

The government in June 2000 had decided to shut production in 25 jute mills operated under the state-run Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) through paying cent percent dues to some 25,000 workers.

The government then argued that the BJMC can't be financially viable amid competition from the private sector mills. As the 25 mills can't be run properly, their 25,000 workers are not getting salaries and dues in time.

It also said the decision for closing the mills was taken in the greater interest of the workers.

After a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on June 2, 2020, her Principal Secretary Ahmad Kaikaus had said the 25 mills would be reopened after equipping those with modern technologies under different types of ventures -- PPP, G2G, joint venture or lease model.

According to sources at the textiles and jute ministry, BJMC had incurred losses in 44 out of 48 years after 1972-73 fiscal year. The cumulative loss of the stage-run corporation stood at Tk 10,674 crore in 2018-19 fiscal year [since 1972].

The parliamentary committee on the labour and employment ministry had earlier recommended modernisation and proper management of the public jute mills.

Abdus Shahid, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Estimate, yesterday said, "We have said that it is up to the government to decide whether the jute mills will be reopened or not."

Committee members Noor-e-Alam Chowdhury, Yusuf Abdullah Harun, AB Tajul Islam, Ahsan Adelur Rahman, Wasika Ayesha Khan, and Khadijatul Anwar, among others, were present at the meeting.

Different platforms of workers have been urging the government to modernise the state-owned jute mills and reopen those soon, saying that resumption of production in those would ensure employment of about 75,000 workers.