Chittagong Burau :
The labour leaders on Saturday called upon the owners of the readymade garment (RMG) factories in Chittagong to pay all the outstanding salaries and festival allowances ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr to avert any untoward incident.
They also urged the factory owners not to sack any worker before the festival because such a step would trigger unrest in the sector. Abdur Razzaque, president of the Chittagong chapter of Bangladesh OSK Garments and Textile Sramik Federation, said that the factory owners must pay off all the due wages and festival allowances by 20th Ramzan (July 19) to avert any possible labour unrest. “You can hardly rule out the possibility of labour unrest ahead of Eid if the outstanding wages and festival allowances are not paid off,” said the labour leader.
Echoing the same demand, Tapan Dutta, president of the Chittagong unit of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre, said that the RMG factory owners must pay the salary for the month of July and festival allowances by July 19.
“Only 30 percent RMG factories of Chittagong are abiding by the minimum wage structure set by the wage board,” said Anwar Hossain, organising secretary of the Chittagong chapter of Bangladesh OSK Garments and Textile Sramik Federation.
Mohammad Mamun, general secretary of Bangladesh Trade Union Shangha, Chittagong, said the factory owners are sacking the workers on a fragile ground so that they do not have to clear the payments ahead of Eid.
