Jute mills in Khulna have suspended a hunger strike for three days after a meeting with State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Munnujan Sufian yielded assurances over their 11-point charter of demands.The disgruntled workers vowed to resume the strike on Dec 17 if their demands, including the clearance of outstanding wages and the implementation of a nation wage commission, are not met by Dec 15, said Shahana Sharmin, president of Platinum Jute Mill’s Collective Bargaining Association or CBA.
The strike was formally postponed around 1 am on Saturday but the makeshift stages for the protests remain intact, according to protest leaders.
“If the demands aren’t met by Dec 15 then the workers will restart the hunger strike,” said Humayun Kabir, general secretary of Platinum Jute Mill’s CBA.
Workers from nine state-owned mills in the Khulna region have engaged in a number of programmes since Nov 23 to highlight their demands which also include the cancellation of public-private ownership or PPP scheme, allocation of funds for purchasing raw materials and payment of gratuities to retired factory workers, among others.
And on Dec 10, workers from 12 of the 26 state-owned jute mills in Khulna, Rajshahi, Narsingdi and Chattogram launched a hunger strike called by leaders of the Jute Mill CBA and Non-CBA to press home their demands.More than 200 people subsequently fell sick while Abdus Sattar, 55, a worker of hessian loom department at the Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills, died during treatment at the Khulna Medical College Hospital.Munnujan urged the workers to call off the strike until Dec 16.
In a tri-partite meeting with the protest leaders and workers at Khulna’s Department of Labour offices on Friday, Munnujan assured them that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was very sincere about jute mills and workers.
“The prime minister led the concerted effort to revive the jute mills which had been closed down in Khulna. This government passed the Wage Commission 2015 and it will also ensure its implementation,” she said.
An inter-ministerial meeting over the implementation of the wage commission has been scheduled for 11 am on Dec 15 at the jute ministry. The state minister will later sit down with the leaders of jute mill workers around 3 pm, reports internet.
