Style Craft owner given 7 days to provide info on laid-off workers, dues

The owner of Style Craft, a Gazipur based garments producer, has been given seven days to provide the actual number of laid-off workers and employees, along with their outstanding dues.

The decision was made during a tripartite meeting held at the Ministry of Labour and Employment in the capital today (21 January) afternoon.

The meeting was chaired by Mohammad Sobur Hossain, additional secretary of the ministry of labour, with Ruhul Amin, central finance secretary of the Bangladesh Trade Union Centre, representing the workers. The chairman of Style Craft, Sharif Almas, was also present at the meeting.

Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) officials and representatives of both the employer and workers attended the meeting as well.

The meeting was convened to address the issue of paying the outstanding dues of Style Craft workers, who were laid off in different phases since 2021.

The next meeting on the issue has been scheduled for 3 February.

At today's meeting, neither the owner nor the workers were able to provide accurate information on how many workers have been laid off since 2021.

However, Ruhul Amin claimed that over 2,200 workers from the two factories of the owner were unlawfully laid off.

He also said the company is operating with limited capacity, and a decision must be made first on whether or not the laid-off workers will be rehired. Additionally, their outstanding dues must be paid.

Following the meeting's decision, Mohammad Sobur Hossain requested the owner and the workers' representatives to finalise the list of workers who were terminated unlawfully within the next seven days, along with their numbers and dues.

He also instructed the regional inspection officer of DIFE to mediate in this matter.

The chairman of Style Craft, Sharif Almas, said that he was unaware of the lawsuit filed against him until after the court's verdict was issued. 

He also claimed that he lacks the capacity to resolve the matter.

At the same time, he proposed paying the workers' dues in installments.

However, he mentioned that for those workers and employees who have personally filed lawsuits, decisions will be made according to the court's ruling once it is issued.

In 2021, the government filed a case against the owner of Style Craft. The owner appealed against the case, which is currently under review in the court.