Owners decide to close factories indefinitely if labor unrest occurs

Factory authorities have decided to keep factories closed under Section 13(1) of the Labour Act whenever labour unrest arises in any factory. This decision will come into effect from tomorrow Sunday.

This decision was taken at a meeting held at noon on Saturday (November 14) at the office of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in Uttara of the capital. Owners of the unrest-affected areas of Ashulia, Savar, Gazipur and Narayanganj took this decision.

After the meeting this decision of the owners was announced at a joint briefing of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and BGMEA, the organisations of entrepreneurs producing and exporting knit category products of the ready-made garments. BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan and Acting President of BKMEA Fazle Shamim Ehsan along with leaders of the two organisations took part in the briefing.

Closing a factory under Section 13(1) means ‘no work, no wage’. Under this section workers will not get wages for as long as the factory remains closed. A total of 55 factories are closed under this section today Saturday. Due to labour unrest the authorities were forced to keep work closed at a total of 147 factories yesterday. That is, general holidays were declared at the remaining 92 factories due to labour unrest. Section 13(1) was not mentioned while declaring holidays at these factories. That is, workers of these factories will get wages even on the closed days.

At the briefing the BGMEA President said BGMEA and BKMEA as organisations do not have the authority to take decisions on closing or keeping any factory open. At the noon meeting the owners themselves informed about the decision to keep factories closed under Section 13(1).

He said after reviewing the situation they have seen that most workers want to join work. However, a quarter is engaged in an attempt to create disorder in the industry. Some workers are also creating disorder in the factories at their instigation. He called for more responsible roles from all sides—law enforcement agencies, owners and workers.

In reply to a question Mahmud Hasan Khan said it is unreasonable to hold a meeting of the minimum wage board for determining wages while there is unrest in the factories on the one hand. However, the representatives of the owners’ side will place the proposal for the minimum wage at the wage board meeting scheduled for next Monday.

At a joint press conference of the workers’ organisations on Friday yesterday the workers’ leaders requested the owners to keep factories closed under the relevant Section 13(1) of the law. The workers’ leaders called upon the workers, owners and the government in this regard. They advised the workers to return to work without falling for political and business provocations.