Workers, officials hold 11km-long human chain, demand reopening of 16 Beximco factories
The closure of the 16 factories was decided on 15 December last year
Workers, officials, and employees of Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur's Sarabo formed a massive human chain spanning 11 kilometres this morning (14 January), demanding the reopening of 16 closed factories and providing loans and Letters of Credit (LCs) facilities to Beximco Group to restore operations.
The peaceful demonstration started at 9am along the Chandra-Nabinagar highway in Kaliakoir's Chakraborty area. Thousands of workers joined the programme to voice their concerns.
The closure of the 16 factories was decided on 15 December last year. Two days later, Beximco Group laid off 30,000 workers from its 16 apparel factories in the industrial park, citing a lack of orders and banking support following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina's government in August.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The layoffs represented 75% of the company's workforce at the industrial park, leaving 10,000 workers in Beximco Limited's Textile and PPE divisions.
As per regulations, the workers who were laid off received half of their basic salary and allowances for 45 days.
In recent days, workers and employees of the factories distributed leaflets with their demands and conducted campaigns. Officials and workers were divided into zones, with responsibilities assigned to team leaders.
Thirteen key points along the Chandra-Nabinagar highway were designated for today's peaceful human chain with two team leaders at each point. Law enforcement officers were deployed to maintain order and ensure that the programme did not disrupt traffic on the highway.
Workers said they want all 16 factories reopened. "Our livelihood and future depend on restoring the proper work environment. The banking system must be restored, and all pending arrears need to be cleared," said one of the workers.
Superintendent of Police AKM Zahirul Islam, of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, confirmed that the workers were peacefully demonstrating.
He added, "The human chain is more than 10 kilometres long but the workers are staying on the side of the highway and not causing any disruption to traffic flow."
Tensions have been high since 17 December when Beximco authorities announced the 45-day closure of the 16 factories after paying November wages.
Since then, workers have been demonstrating and demanding the reopening of the 16 factories.
