Hotel workers on Friday demanded government intervention to stop violation of labour rights as they are facing a spree of job cuts and oppression by the owners of city hotel and sweetshops ahead of the fasting month of Ramadan. Addressing a rally organised by the Action Council to Implement Minimum Wages and Labour Law in Hotel Sector in front of the Swadhinata Stambha at Suhrawardy Udyan, they also demanded their dues and allowances be paid before Eid-ul-Fitr.
Addressing on the occasion, Action Council joint coordinator Abdul Khaleq said although Ramadan is a holy month, the workers in the sector live in fear of sudden termination as the owners don’t want to pay the dues and allowances demanded by workers before Eid.
The workers are also facing physical assault by miscreants paid by the owners when they protest the sudden termination, he added.
Bangladesh Hotel-Restaurant-Sweetmeat-Bakery-Workers Union president Akhtaruzzaman Khan said: “About 10 hotel workers in 100 are terminated every year before the Ramadan. It’s an unethical cost cutting by the owners. They want to get rid of paying the dues and allowances of the workers before the Eid.”
“It’s a matter of thousands of workers becoming jobless all of a sudden in a month. Such violation is being repeated every year due to the lack of implementation of the labour laws,” he said.
“We’re receiving reports that workers and their family members are facing threats to leave the areas, and even attacks were being carried out on their messes and residences by miscreants paid by the owners,” he said.
“Even those who are lucky enough to save the job are deprived of proper payment,” he added. (Source: UNB)
