At least 40 apparel factories on Sunday morning were closed along Ashulia industrial belt, on the outskirt of Dhaka city, as the workers demonstrated for pay hikes. Police and witnesses said the workers of those factories signed in around 8:00am and then got off their workplaces to join in the demos, demanding minimum wage of Tk 16,000 and hikes in other perks. To avoid any untoward incidents, the authorities abruptly declared their factories shut for the day. Additional policemen have been deployed, said Dhaka industrial police director, Md. Mostafizur Rahman. The workers of Windy Group factory began their demonstration on December 11. It later spread gradually into other factories. On Saturday, some 20 factories were shut, said police. As the demo was intensifying, the home minister, Asaduzzaman Khan, shipping minister, Shahjahan Khan and the state minister for labour and employment, Mujibul Haque, on Sunday evening sat for views exchange meeting with the apparel leaders and factory owners, in Ashulia. The home minister said that he believes some people are brewing conspiracy against the vibrant clothing sector of Bangladesh. ‘We are identifying the conspirators and that they will be punished,’ said the minister in the meeting, organised by the Dhaka district police. Shahjahan Khan asked the workers not to be misguided by any miscreants. He told the workers to go back to their respective production lines from Monday morning. ‘If you have any logical demand, the government will realise those through holding dialogue,’ said the shipping minister. The government in 2013 set the minimum wage for an apparel worker at Tk 5,300 after violent protests had erupted. However, many factories of the area are yet to implement the minimum wage, alleged the labour leaders.Abdus Salam Murshedy, managing director of Envoy Group told New Age that the workers were out for a demo over pay hikes but the clothing sector is unable to upgrade the wages at this point because the apparel industry is going through some turmoil.The workers said the prices of all essential goods increased by at least 100 per cent but their wages remained the same.‘We get five per cent yearly increment on our basic salaries,’ said Babul Hossain, an apparel worker. He claimed that the rent of a room, in the meantime, was increased by Tk 1,000 to Tk 1,500.Meanwhile, the local member of the parliament, Enamur Rahman, and other public representatives and police officials held a meeting on Saturday with the house owners of the area to request them not to raise home rents.Police said the agitating workers came out from Envoy Group, Sterling Group, Setara Group, Palmal Group, Sharmin Group, Ha-Meem Group, The Rose Dresses Ltd, IDS Group, Green Life Clothing Ltd, Yagi Bangladesh Garments Ltd, and Designer Jeans Ltd and Birds Group, among other companies.
