Govt efforts on to reopen Tuba factories: Minister

FE Report
Shipping Minister Shahjahan Khan said Friday the government has been making all possible efforts to reopen the closed units of Tuba Group to fulfil workers' legitimate demands.
The labour leader-cum-minister also made a promise of clearing all the arrears, saying that they have instructed the owner of the struggling apparel group to pay overtime bills and festival bonuses of its workers before the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
"The government has been working for the wellbeing of the workers. It would also force the Tuba Group owner in this connection," he said while addressing a rally in the capital.
Garment Sramik Samonnoy Parishad, a platform of several workers' groups, organised the rally in front of National Press Club demanding immediate resumption of production at the closed Tuba factories.
Speaking as the chief guest, the minister said Tuba Group has an insurance claim of Tk 180 million to Karnaphuli Insurance Company Ltd.
He said he sat with owners of Karnaphuli Insurance and Tuba Group Thursday to deal with the issue. But the insurance authorities failed to give any satisfactory response relating to the compensation claim.
"The government is looking into the matter paying serious attention," he said.
The company is demanding this amount to the insurer as compensation for the damage caused to its Tazreen Fashions due to fire accident few years back, he said.
 "I want to see the closed Tuba factories to restart manufacturing clothing products and the owner must clear all the arrears of its workers before the upcoming Eid," the minister said.   
Mr Khan, also convener of Garment Sramik Samonnoy Parishad, came down heavily on the people who criticised him by identifying his as an agent of the owners, saying that they would not allow anyone to do politics with the workers.
The workers of the five garment units of Tuba Group had been on a hunger strike since July 28 demanding payment of arrears, overtime bills and Eid bonuses.  
Following days of the strike, office-bearers of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) with the intervention of few cabinet members, including the shipping minister, came to an agreement and paid two months' due wages of the workers from its headquarters saying that Tuba Group would pay bonuses for the Eid-ul-Fitr and the rest of the arrears later.
But festival bonus and overtime bills are yet to be cleared.
Labour leaders Z M Kamrul Anam, Sirajul Islam Rony, Nazma Akhter, Abul Hussein, Lima Ferdous and Bahran-e-Sultan, among others, also spoke on the occasion.