PHOTO: PALASH KHAN

STAR BUSINESS REPORT

Labour and Employment Adviser to the caretaker government Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain yesterday said that garment factory owners must clear outstanding wages of their workers by May 28 ahead of Eid-ul-Azha or risk imprisonment.

“Otherwise, they could land in jail,” he said, adding, “warrants have been issued” against nearly all owners who have failed to pay their workers and gone into hiding, according to a private television channel.

Sakhawat, also the adviser of the shipping ministry, was speaking to reporters at the shipping ministry, according to state news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS).

He said a meeting with several factory owners had taken place on Tuesday, during which the decision was made to settle all wage dues by May 28.

His remarks followed protests earlier that day, when several hundred workers from eight factories of TNZ Group blocked the road in front of Kakrail Mosque in the capital, demanding unpaid wages and other service benefits.

Police earlier stopped the workers from marching towards the chief adviser’s residence at the State Guest House Jamuna.

The protesters gathered at Shrom Bhaban, which houses the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, the Department of Labour, and the Labour Welfare Foundation, according to witnesses.

Speaking to journalists, Sakhawat said that issues related to the readymade garment sector usually fall under the jurisdiction of the industries and commerce ministries.