RMG workers block road in Savar demanding pending salaries
The workers of a garment factory blocked a road in Hemayetpur area of Savar demanding their salaries this noon.
Nearly a thousand workers of Raquef Apparels Washing and Packaging Industries Ltd blocked Hemayetpur-Singair road at Tetuljhora area around 3:30pm, Dhaka Industrial Police 1 Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Korban Ali told our Savar correspondent.
He said the workers were supposed to get their salary for the month of June at 2pm today, but they were not paid.
"Agitating workers have blocked the road. We are trying to convince the workers to leave," he added.
Rafiqul Islam Shujon, president of Bangladesh Garments and Shilpa Sramik Federation told The Daily Star that there are more than 1,000 workers in the factory and the authorities have not paid their salaries for the month of July citing several problems.
"On August 19, the factory owners, Thana Police, Industrial Police and we, the workers' leader, sat down to settle the matter. An agreement was reached that day that the authorities would pay the wages by today. But the salaries were not paid and the electricity connection of the factory was also disconnected," he said.
Workers blocked the road assuming that the authorities will not run the factory and will not pay the remaining salary, said Shujon.
"I have spoken to factory authorities and they are saying that they are unable to pay due to bank problems."
When contacted, Akbar Ali, general manager (GM) of Raquef Apparels Washing and Packaging Industries Ltd, told The Daily Star over phone that workers were supposed to be paid today but they could not arrange money due to bank issues.
"We applied for a bank loan but the bank said that they do not have funds. I sat in the bank until 4 o'clock. Since it has not happened today, another date for payment of salary has to be fixed."
In response to a question that the workers are complaining that the power connection of the factory has been disconnected and the factory will be declared closed, he said, "No, it's nothing like that. This is not correct."
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