Workers of closed garment factory in Mirpur file cases against management for compensation

Workers of a Dhaka apparel factory have filed 18 cases with the Labour Court against its management seeking their due compensations and other benefits, sources said.
The production of the factory has been suspended following the recent inspections conducted by global retailers' groupings.
Filing of twenty two more cases against the factory authorities is also under process, said the court sources.
 "I have filed the case with the Labour Court in Dhaka recently," Anisur Rahman, one of the 18 workers, told the FE.
The factory was closed following recommendation of the Review Panel after Accord engineers in March this year found the building that housed the RMG unit 'unsafe'.
With shutdown of the factory, around 3,500 workers at the factory lost their jobs.
Of them, about 50-60 workers went the Labour Legal Aid Cell (LLAC) on various occasions seeking redress.
The LLAC, which was formed last year just after the Rana Plaza tragedy under the National Legal Aid Services Organisation (NLASO) of the Law Ministry, provides legal advice and other necessary assistance to the workers at free of cost.
When contacted, law officer at the LLAC Moshiur Rahman Chowdhury said that the workers came to the cell and he sent the grievance notices to the apparel factory management and called upon them to pay the workers' compensation and other benefit as per the Bangladesh Labour Law-2006.
The factory's management through their legal counsel--Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed and Associates -- replied to the LLAC, saying they are not bound to pay the benefits and compensation in line with the newly included Section 28(A) of the Bangladesh Labour Law-2006, he said.
Referring to the inspection and visit of Accord, Alliance, BUET and Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment, and their decision to close the factory in March this year, the counsel said, "Our client had to shut down its factory which was beyond the control of our client."
The question of amicable settlement or payment does not arise, as the workers were not terminated, but were subject to and affected by factory closure "beyond the control of our client," the counsel said.
It also called upon the LLAC to rescind its grievance notices in view of the circumstances and provisions of Section 28(A) of the Labour Act-2006.
Then the LLAC, on behalf of the workers, filed 18 cases with the Labour Court in Dhaka recently.
The chairman, the managing director, the human resource complaint manager and the accounts manager of the private limited company, the name of which begins with the letter 'S' at Pallabi, were made parties at the cases.
The Section 28(A), which was inserted in the labour law through an amendment in 2013, stipulates that if a factory is shut down due to reasons that are beyond the control of human or due to the consequence of any natural disaster, the government can determine the relationship between the workers and the employer through rules, officials said.
When his attention was drawn to it, Moshiur Rahman said, "As per the Section, the government can determine the relationship. Until or unless the government does not determine it, the existing provisions will be applicable."
Such legal battles are being raised only when the workers, who lost their jobs, are not paid with proper wage and other benefits, industry insiders said.
Appreciating the safety-related measures of Accord and Alliance in the country's RMG sector, officials in the industry and the labour court also requested them (Accord and Alliance) to pay workers compensation and re-employ them to avoid legal fights and the potential unrest in the sector.