More than 300 workers demonstrated in the city on Monday claiming that they have been laid off by Q-Point Fashions Ltd, a readymade garment factory located in Savar, reports bdnews24.com. The workers had filed an application to the Department of Labour on August 31 seeking permission to form a union. This angered the company and the authorities laid off 322 workers on September 11, said Jewel, who was a supervisor at the factory. As part of the protest, the laid-off workers gathered in front of the office of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association or BGMEA at Karwan Bazar, waving red flags. They also claimed that the management have not paid their wages for three months and 13 days and not cleared other dues for overtime and holidays. “Deputy Production Manager Babu Halder got us beaten by local hoodlums when we approached him for money,” said Jewel. The workers also accused the authorities of not issuing appointment letters, sending them on forced leave, not granting female workers maternity leave and firing them instead, and not granting workers holidays. “They cannot fire us this way. They sometimes lock female workers inside the factory and assault them,” said Sultana Begum, a demonstrator. “So, we are here to lodge our protests,” said Begum, also President of Green Bangla Garments Workers Federation. Babu Halder first refused to speak to bdnews24.com, claiming that he was not employed at Q-Point Fashions Ltd. But, later, he claimed that no one was laid off. “They are making up such allegations.”
