Deeper crisis feared as 219 factories shut
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in Ashulia to resolve the crisis through discussions, industry owners are worried about the safety of their factories, he said.
Industrial police have yet to start fully functioning more than one month after the ouster of the Awami League government, further fuelling safety concerns. Harsh measures like internet shutdown amid street protests during the mass uprising already hampered production and orders heavily.
Owners say they are not getting help from the industrial police even after lodging complaints. The number of personnel patrolling the industrial zones is inadequate.
Army personnel have been deployed to the industrial zones, but they do not have the magistracy powers to arrest protesters, said Shams Mahmud, managing director of Shasha Denims.
“We aren’t getting the confidence to run the factories because of safety concerns,” Mahmud told The Daily Star over the phone.
Foreign buyers are putting pressure for timely delivery but the factories are shut, said a frustrated Mahmud. Many shipments may get cancelled, or the buyers may demand big discounts or expensive air shipments, he added.
Many international retailers and brands are cancelling buying trips because of the unrest although this is the peak time to confirm work orders for the next winter season, exporters said.
“So, a massive impact of the unrest will be noticed in the next winter season,” Mahmud said.
A senior officer of the industrial police, requesting anonymity, said they are conducting joint patrols in the industrial zones and responding to incidents. Industrial police are trying to be fully functional, the officer added.
AK Azad, chairman and CEO of Ha-Meem Group, echoed the views of Mahmud. He said most of the incidents were taking place in Ashulia and local groups were involved.
Police are not working, which is helping the unrest in one factory to spread to the others, said a garment exporter based in Narayanganj’s Rupganj who asked not to be named.
In some cases, political issues are also involved, the exporter said.
For instance, he said, the unrest in the Beximco garment factory has political influence as one of its owners, Salman F Rahman, was an adviser to ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina.
He also said that buyers, worried and frustrated over the situation, are sending a lot of queries to know about the condition of work orders for the next season.
Giant Group Managing Director Faruque Hassan claimed the ongoing unrest is not about wages because the pay was hiked in December last year.
In many cases, the workers are demanding the removal of senior officials, equal ratio in appointment of male and female workers, he said.
The workers are placing “unusual demands” in some cases, said Md Saleudh Zaman Khan, vice-president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.
For example, he said, protesters demanded the recruitment of 300 workers when a factory in Narayanganj needed only 20. The factory management decided to hire a little over 20 workers, but the protesters did not return to work, Zaman said.
Worker leaders pointed the finger at partisan politics and conflict in fabric scrap trade for the unrest. They said a section of fabric scrap traders were trying to maintain control by using the workers.
Many are taking advantage of weak law and order, said Md Towhidur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Apparel Workers Federation.
If the factories do not reopen fully on Saturday, the sector may face a deeper crisis in near future, he said.
Nazma Akter, president of Sammilito Garment Sramik Federation, said many workers are also involved in partisan politics. In some cases, outsiders are instigating them to launch unrest, she said.
She recommended holding a dialogue among the stakeholders to find a way out of the crisis.
Labour and Employment Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman believes those involved in the vandalism of factories are not real workers.
The secretary said he held a meeting with BGMEA leaders and union leaders at Tongi yesterday as part of measures to improve worker-owner relations.
Asif Mahmud, youth and sports adviser to the interim government, suspects a conspiracy behind the ongoing unrest in the garment sector.
Speaking at a media briefing at the Foreign Service Academy yesterday, he said that around 20 percent of total orders have been cancelled.
“And we have witnessed that the buyers of a certain country have been desperately lobbying to get those orders,” he said, citing Secretary Shafiquzzaman.
Asif said that workers prevented attacks on factories by a group called Bekar Jubo Songho, or Unemployed Youth Association, and one leader of the association arrested in Netrokona was found to be involved with AL’s student front Chhatra League.
He admitted that the protesting workers have some genuine demands besides the conspiracies.
The adviser also warned of strict action against fabric scrap traders who are fuelling the unrest.