‘Many RMG workers faced termination after Eid’

Workers' leaders have alleged that a number of ready-made garment (RMG) factories are forcefully terminating workers after the Eid vacation without any prior notice.

They made this allegation in a letter written to the labour and employment secretary on Wednesday. They have also demanded legal action against the accused factory owners.

"Many workers were terminated or forced to resign after they had come back to rejoin their workplace after Eid holidays," reads the letter written by Sammilito Garments Sramik Federation (SGSF). 

The federation in another letter written to the ministry on May 27 stated that a number of factories had not paid their workers' salaries for March and April, and festival allowances before the Eid.

Citing Industrial Police data, SGSF President Nazma Akhter and General Secretary Nahidul Islam in their first letter said that 261 garment and textile factories had not paid their workers' wages for April, while nearly 500 apparel makers had failed to pay festival allowances before Eid.

The defaulter factories included members of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA), and Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).

According to the labour leaders, the highest 539 BGMEA member factories did not pay either April salaries or festival bonuses.

Referring to the Labour Law, they said a factory must pay the workers their salaries for the previous month within the first seven days of the next month.

Labour leaders also alleged that most factories had failed to maintain social distancing and health safety guidelines, as a result of which workers were getting infected with Covid-19.

SGSF demanded that factory owners bear the treatment costs of the coronavirus infected workers alongside paying their full wages.