Strike at apparel hubs tomorrow

Agitating workers of the Tuba Group called Thursday strike at apparel factories across the country for Saturday after they had been forcibly driven out of the venue of their hunger strike in the city by the police in the afternoon.

The leaders of the Tuba Group Sramik Sangram Committee at a rally held in the evening in protest against the police action announced the strike.

Earlier the Sangram Committee's coordinator Mushrefa Mishu called an indefinite strike with effect from Thursday before being arrested by the police on the day. She, however, was released later on the day.  

About the announcement of Mishu the leaders said the non-stop strike call was an immediate reaction of her in the face of police action.

On the 11th straight day of their hunger strike, police stormed into the 6th floor of the Hossain Super Market at Badda in the city, where the workers of the five Tuba Group units had been on a hunger strike demanding full payment of their wage arrears. The police fired teargas shells and rubber bullets to disperse them.

In the face of the police action the agitators came out of the 12-storey supermarket, which houses three Tuba factories. They took to the streets protesting against the police action. It led to chase and counter-chase between the workers and the law enforcers.

In an immediate reaction, Mushrefa Mishu, also President of Garment Workers Unity Forum, told reporters that police had baton charged the workers, who had been sick because of the hunger strike, forcing them to vacate the venue.

"Indefinite strike will be observed from today (Thursday) at all apparel units and their ongoing hunger strike will also be observed at the Central Shaheed Minar in the capital, unless their demands are met," she said.

As Mishu along with workers and leaders were approaching the Central Shaheed Minar, police came forward to intervene and arrested Mishu and Sangram Committee organiser Joly Talukder. But Mishu was released later.

Police also were locked in clashes, when workers at nearby readymade garment (RMG) units at North Badda and Middle Badda took to streets expressing their solidarity with the Tuba workers.

In helmets and vests, police fired rubber bullets, teargas shells and water cannons to disperse the protestors from the busy Kuril-Malibagh road, leaving at least 15 people injured. Nearly 25 vehicles, including buses, were also vandalised during the trouble.

After being evicted, the workers alleged that police had cut off the water supply to the factory building.

"Nobody was allowed to join us, water supplies were cut by the police," according to a writing, which was thrown down to the ground by the workers from the building before being evicted from there.

Refuting the allegation, Mahbub Hasan, additional deputy commissioner (ADC-Gulshan zone) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, claimed there had been sufficient food and drinking water inside the factory.

Talking to the FE, a key member of the Sangram Committee Taslima Akhter Lima, convener of the Bangladesh Garment Sramik Sanghati (BGSS), said they had postponed their fast-unto-death programme for a strategic reason. "Workers will stage protest rallies at all apparel belts tomorrow (Friday) and also observe strike at all factories across the country Saturday," she said citing the decision of the committee.

Another leader of the committee, Bangladesh Sramik Kormachari Federation president Jahirul Islam Jahir, said they would withdraw the ongoing movement if the BGMEA clears all the dues, including overtime bills and festival allowances by Friday.

The workers' leaders also demanded unconditional release of their leaders and activists from detention.

Following the police action at the Hossain Super Market, the recipients of two months' wages paid at the BGMEA headquarters started increasing.  

According to the BGMEA, a total of 1,475 workers so far received wage arrears of two months (May and June) from them on the second day of payment.

On the other hand, Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan, State Minister for Labour Mujibul Haque Chunnu, BGMEA President Md Atiqul Islam sat in an emergency meeting with Delwar Hossain, Managing Director of Tuba Group, who was released from jail on bail recently, over payment of the wages for July.

After the meeting, Mujibul Haque Chunnu called upon the workers and the workers' groups concerned not to go for any fresh movement as their remaining arrears and other dues would be paid accordingly.

 "We have had a meeting with the owner and asked him to pay the wages for the month of July on August 10 as scheduled," Mr Chunnu said.

It was the government's directive and he (Tuba Group owner) had to manage the money and pay the workers, he added.