In the wake of labour unrest, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Monday decided to keep all the factories at Ashulia, Savar closed for an indefinite period from Tuesday for security concerns.“We’ve decided to keep all the factories at Ashulai closed for an indefinite period at the request of factory owners and entrepreneurs for security reasons in the wake of violence,” BGMEA president M Atiqul Islam told a press conference.
He said the workers will not get their wages during the production suspension as they made the factory closure decision as per Section 13 (A) of the Labour Act.
Justifying their decision, Atiq said, “We can’t operate the factories any more. With our back pushed against the wall… we’re forced to take the harsh decision of shutting down the factories,” he told reporters.
The BGMEA president also asked the garment factory owners at other parts of the country to close their factories if they face difficulties in continuing operation in case of violence.
Atiq alleged that a vested quarter is conspiring to make the RMG sector instable by carrying out destructive activities.
Referring to Monday’s violence at different garment factories in the city’s Mirpur area, the BGMEA chief said a group of people in the guise of workers instigated garment workers to indulge in violence. ”Many entrepreneurs are forced to shut their factories down today following the violence.”
He called upon the RMG workers to get united to foil the plots being hatched to destroy the sector.
