Readymade garments (RMG) workers claim that they are being laid off in scores following the protest demanding the revision of wage board for apparel workers.
Not only that, the workers, as well as their families are being threatened with lawsuits and many are being sent off based on photos that have been hung on the factory gates. Moreover, many apparel factories have shut down without any notice or clearing the dues of the staff.
According to Garments Workers Trade Union Centre 4,000 workers were laid off in December of last year alone and nearly 3,000 of these workers were let go after the protest.
As many as 3,050 workers have been dismissed in Nishchintpur, Baipal, Savar Bazar, Jiranibazar, Ashulia, Gazipur, Konabari and Jamagar following the protests.
However, the factories in Ashulia laid off the most number of workers and many of them are being subjected to harassment on a regular basis. Many workers now have a bar on their freedom given the lawsuits filed against unidentified people.
“This is not the whole list of workers who have been laid off,” the organization’s General Secretary Jolly Talukder said, adding that the workers were too scared to return to work.
“We are receiving news of layoffs on a regular basis now,” Sakib, a staff of AR Jeans who has recently been laid off told Bangla Tribune.
Sakib claimed that many like him were not part of the movement, but were out of jobs anyway. He said that their signatures were forcefully being taken on blank papers and their ID cards taken against their will.
He said that the police were harassing them as well as threatening their family members adding that on Jan 15 of this year, 240 workers were fired.
“We didn’t participate in the vandalizing, neither did we misbehave with the owners,” another laid-off worker from Ashulia, Md Abu Raihan told Bangla Tribune.
“I heard that there are cases against 62 of us,” he added, saying that the police have arrested the leaders.
According to Raihan, the pictures of 330 workers have been hung on the gates and they are being fired accordingly.
Meanwhile, the staff of Razaul Apparels at Konabari are in troubled waters, given the sudden shut down of the factory.
“It’s been a week since the factory has been locked,” said Ismail, now a former worker of Reazaul Apparels.
“They closed the factory as the workers did not accept the pay-scale. They only said that the factory was closed for an indefinite amount of time,” he added.
The authorities of the factory, however, have not been reachable for a comment.
Meanwhile, Sramik Karmachari League President Lima Ferdous said that during all the meetings that took place regarding the matter, it was decided that the owners had decided to take steps against the workers responsible for vandalizing and chaos.
“We stipulated that innocent workers will not suffer,” she said adding that allegations of workers being threatened have come up.
Ferdous said that they will draw up a list and call a media briefing.
On the other hand, Ashulia police OC Reazaul Hoque denied the allegations saying, “There have been seven cases filed over the matter.”
He said that allegations of workers being harassed and not being able to live in their homes are nothing fiction.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Co-Chairman Mohammad Nasir echoed the police saying that he has not yet received any news from any workers’ organization regarding the matter.