Negligence toward workers unacceptable: GM Quader
Jatiya Party Chairperson and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Parliament GM Quader yesterday said the negligence shown towards workers in the name of lockdown cannot be accepted in the civilised society.
"It seems the government does not consider workers as human beings," he said in a statement.
GM Quader said due to the government's short-sighted decision, the workers had to return to the capital on foot, spending additional amount of money.
"The workers, who keep the wheel of the economy moving for the country's prosperity, have been treated rudely and ruthlessly," he also said.
GM Quader said a planned lockdown and mass vaccination are urgent to bring the spread of Covid-19 under control. But there is extreme lack of coordination in all cases. Because of that, the number of deadly infections and deaths are not decreasing.
He said public transport was open only for two days before Eid-ul-Azha. Again, public transport was stopped from July 23, due to the strict lockdown.
Hundreds of thousands of people travelled by public transport in a chaotic situation before Eid. At that time, several lakh more were stuck in the crowd, in hopes of celebrating Eid with their families, Quader also said.
Again, in the midst of strict restrictions, a sudden announcement was made on July 30 that the garment industry will be re-opened from August 1. Such an announcement causes indescribable misery to low-income workers.
They started reaching the capital on foot or rickshaws or in vans and trucks, risking their lives. They went through not only untold sufferings, but also had to spend additional money to save their jobs, the JP chairperson said.
Thousands of people crossed the river in each ferry. For all these reasons, health safety measures have been neglected severely. To avoid disaster, the government announced to launch public transport on July 31 and August 1 on a limited scale.
GM Quader said, in April last year, there was a "cruel joke" with the workers about opening garments factory amid the lockdown.
The respective authorities of the government did not take lessons from last year's lockdown, said the JP chief.
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