‘Follow the labour law’
Workers of a garment factory in Dhaka's Dhamrai upazila yesterday demonstrated in front of the factory to protest its closure for an indefinite period.
About 1,000 workers of Momo Fashion Limited took part in the protest in Joypura area, demanding the factory be run according to the labour laws.
Workers said the factory did not follow labour laws. It did not pay workers leave allowance and maternity leave allowance.
Factory authorities would terminate and sack workers without any cause. Workers were even tortured, they claimed.
In protest, the workers went on strike inside the factory on Monday. Then the factory authority closed the establishment for an indefinite period.
If the factory authority does not open the factory and run it by following labour laws, the workers will wage a tougher movement, they added.
Arabindu Bepari (Bindu), president of Biplobi Garments Workers Federation, told The Daily Star that following Monday's strike, the factory owners assured the workers that their demand would be met. And so, the workers called off the strike.
But yesterday, when they went to work, they saw a notice that the factory was closed indefinitely under section 13/1 (labour law), he added.
Abu Jafar Mohammad Saleh, assistant superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, told The Daily Star that the factory has been declared closed by the owners.
However, the law and order situation of the area is normal, and additional police personnel have been deployed in the area to avert any untoward incident, he said.
Despite repeated phone calls, this correspondent could not reach the chairman of Momo Fashion Limited for comments as he did not receive the calls.
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