Condemning the recent vandalism in different factories and manufacturing plants, a worker rights body on Saturday claimed that outsiders, including jhut (garment offcut) traders and job aspirants, committed such crime.
No way have workers been responsible for the sabotage taken place in Ashulia, Savar, Tongi and Gazipur industrial areas in recent times, said the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC).
The Bangladesh chapter of the IndustriALL Global Union also made a 10-point demand, including no halt in production without prior notice and an initiative to resume operations of all factories.
It placed the demands at a press conference hosted at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) on Saturday.
IBC president AM Nazim Uddin chaired the briefing, while general secretary Md Shahidullah Badal read out a written statement. "We want to make it clear that neither the IBC nor our trade union organisations were involved in creating unrest," said Mr Badal.
He requested workers to refrain from any kind of strike or closure of factories for the sake of their livelihoods and urged them to join the work in their respective factories peacefully.
"We also request the law-and-order forces to deal with outsiders strictly."
The IBC urged factory owners to refrain from laying off workers in the present situation, rather asking them to re-employ the illegally dismissed workers.
It also urged the stakeholders concerned to monitor whether the declared minimum wages have been duly implemented in all garment factories.
Demanding withdrawal of all false lawsuits against workers filed during the movement for a wage hike, the IBC called for reinstating them in jobs. It called a halt to abuse the database of both BGMEA and BKMEA by blacklisting workers.
The organisation called for introducing a rationing system on an urgent basis for garment workers and establishing essential facilities such as accommodation and healthcare centres in labour-intensive areas.
In the light of ILO Conventions 87 and 98, freedom of association and collective bargaining rights must be ensured in the industrial units, it mentioned.
The IBC said raising house rent all of a sudden must be stopped, rather seeking a mechanism for approving the decision to increase by the local administration.
Also, technical and vocational training centres should be set up for the purpose of using advanced technology and skills development of the workers, it added.
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