Retired sugar mill workers stage protest in demand of gratuity

About 4,000 retired workers, employees and officials of the Bangladesh Sugar and Foods Industries Corporation headquarters and the sugar mills/institutions under its control staged a protest and a human chain on 6 September in front of Sugar Industry Building with the aim of collecting about Tk400 crores in gratuity.

This money has been owed since 2014, reads a press release.

Retirees have been speaking about their plight in various newspapers. Moreover, they have been seeking help from the chairman of the corporation, the industry secretary, the industry minister, the finance minister, the finance secretary for their due money.

Moreover, the Human Rights Commission has instructed the Industry secretary, and Finance secretary to pay the pensioners, but nothing has been done.

Without getting money, many retirees have already died due to illness and disease, many of their sons and daughters have stopped studying, they are socially degraded because they are not able to pay house rent.

Forced by such a situation, the retirees have now taken to the streets. Around 400 workers, employees and officials from 15 mills joined the movement along with the headquarters officials.

Moreover, even though there is a government directive to provide festive bonus, medical allowance, Boishakhi allowance to retirees, it is not being paid by the corporation.

All have come together to get the bonus, allowance and gratuity money. In the past they have also submitted memorandums to the prime minister. After the agitation on 6 September, they gave a memorandum to the mill chairman and the Industrial secretary.

On 7 September, they held a symbolic hunger strike on the ground floor of the sugar industry building.

Workers, employees and officials of various mills and employees and officials of the headquarters participated in it.

In a brief speech, the chairman of the mill assured all those present that the gratuity money would be paid very soon.