Jute mill workers suspend hunger strike

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Khulna Correspondent
Published : 18:14, Dec 14, 2019 | Updated : 21:07, Dec 14, 2019

State Minister for Labor and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian addresses a tripartite meeting in Khulna on Saturday (Dec 14).The state-owned jute mill workers in Khulna and Jessore regions have suspended their ongoing hunger strike for three days.
After observing a hunger strike for four days straight, the workers withdrew their strike around 1am on Saturday (Dec 14).
CBA-Non CBA Sangram Parishad leader Sohrab Hossain said: "After a meeting between leaders and workers, they decided to suspend their strike in honour of Martyred Intellectuals Day and Victory Day.
"We will resume fasting unto death from Dec 17 if our demands are not met within the next 3 days," Sohrab added.
The meeting was followed by another tripartite meeting presided over by State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian at the Khulna office of the Department of Labour on Friday (Dec 13) evening.
At the meeting, the state minister urged the demonstrating leaders and workers to call off their hunger strike as they are working to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, workers of UMC Jute Mills Ltd in Narsingdi joined their workplace, halting the hunger strike on Saturday.
Jute mill workers continue their protest in Khulna on Thursday (Dec 12).Workers of 24 state-owned jute mills, out of the 26 which are under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), began the strike on Dec 10 to press their 11-point demand under the banner of CBA-Non CBA Sangram Parishad.
A worker died and several hundred others fell sick during the strike.
The 11-point demand includes implementation of the National Wage Commission, payment of all weekly wages, adequate budgetary allocation for the jute sector and ensuring sale of jute products, payment of the outstanding provident fund and gratuity to retired workers and settlement of insurance benefits to the families of the deceased workers. Recruitment of workers, regularization of temporary workers, reinstatement of sacked workers, and balancing, modernizing, rehabilitating, and expanding the jute mills for better productivity are also included.

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