Hundreds of workers of Tuba Group staged demonstration in front of Hossain Market in the city on Saturday demanding cancelling ‘the bail’ for its owner Delwar Hossain in a case filed over Tazreen Fashions fire two years ago.
Earlier in the morning over 600 Tuba workers thronged Hossain Market premises to observe their programme. They chanted slogans, demanding three-month’s arrear salary and allowances, including Eid bonus.
The protesters also demanded Tuba Managing Director Delwar’s capital punishment for what they said killing of 116 Tazreen Fashions workers and burning 170 others.
After the agitation programme, the workers and activists tried to bring out a procession at about 1:00pm but they were resisted by law enforcers, triggering a scuffle.
As police resisted them from holding the rally, they sat on the Badda-Gulshan link road disrupting traffic movement.
About 1,600 Tuba workers could not go home during the Eid-ul-Fitr holiday as they were not paid salaries for last three months.
Tuba Group, which has five garment units at the 12-storey Hossain Market in the city’s Uttar Badda, also owned Tazreen Fashions Ltd.
Meanwhile, the indefinite hunger strike programme of agitating Tuba workers entered sixth day to realise their five-point demand. Earlier, the workers rejected the BGMEA’s pledge of payments in 7 days.
The workers along with the activists of 11 left parties, who joined the agitation yesterday under the banner of Tuba Group Sramik (workers) Sangram Committee, started gathering in front of the factory housed at Hossain Market at Badda to hold a prescheduled rally.
They were carrying banners, placards and festoons to hold the programme.
Expressing solidarity with the workers, Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) President Mujahidul Islam Selim went to the spot and said the garment owners are committing genocide by depriving of their workers from arrears.
Addressing the programme, Anu Mohammad chief of the National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Natural Resources, Power and Port, urged the government to mount pressure on the owner of the Tuba Group and BGMEA so that they meet the demands in 24 hours.
Bangladesh Samajtantrik Dal (BSD) General Secretary Khalequzzaman and women leader Khushi Kabir, among others, addressed the programme.
Meanwhile, at least 75 workers who are on hunger strike fell sick and taking saline. Of them, Shahida Akhtar has been taken at Dhanmandi Gono Shastha Hospital as her condition was deteriorated.
Earlier, ten workers have been hospitalised.
