Shop-owners in the city are worried about the government's recent move to enforce a labour law that makes mandatory for them to keep their shops closed half-day on every Thursday and full-day on every Friday.
The Department of Mills, Factories and Industries Inspection has sent a letter to the shop-owners, asking them to fully comply with the law enacted in 2006.
But the shop-owners oppose the instruction, saying that such a strict implementation of the law would cut down their business hours further, as non-availability of electricity is already taking a huge toll on their overall businesses.
According to the Bangladesh Labour Law 2006, section 114(1), shops must be kept closed a half-day on every Thursday and full-day on every Friday. According to section 114 (3), the owners must close their shops after 8:00pm everyday.
The inspection department has already launched drives for implementing the law, and issued showcause against a number of shops for violating the law.
At present, the shop-owners keep their businesses closed only a day in a week.
"If the government ensures us of providing electricity at least five hours a day, we will follow the law and keep our shops closed half-day on Thursday and full-day on Friday," Bangladesh Dokan Malik Samity (BDMS) President Amir Hossain Khan told the FE.
He said the shop-owners get electricity for two to three hours per day, which is severely affecting their businesses.
BDMS has sent a proposal to the authorities concerned, requesting them to allow the shop-owners to operate their businesses six days in a week. The shops-owners are ready to pay overtime to their workers for working an extra day, he added.
Around 2.0 million shops are now operating in the country, and more than 8.0 million people are directly and indirectly involved with the industry, according to BDMS.
"If we have to comply with the law, our businesses will certainly be affected, because our major customers come to shop on Thursday and specially on Friday," said Khalid Mahmud Khan, director of Kay Kraft.
"If the government asks us to give extra payment to the workers for their work for extra hours, we are ready to pay," he said.
"People like to shop Friday because the day is a public holiday, and sales on this particular day dominate almost 75 per cent of our total sale-volume in a week," said a salesman of a shop in a super market in Dhanmondi.
"We are ready to work extra hours, if extra payment is made. The owners give us extra money for working in holidays during Eid and Bangla new year," said another salesman.
