Lead NewsNational

The present is helpless, the future is uncertain

bd garmentsEven during corona, rice has to be given in the stomach. Lots of stomach. ‘Deshe’ has two young daughters, an old mother and a father-in-law. In Dhaka, she and her husband. ‘Kamaikajer man’ is just husband and wife. The two worked in the same factory at Tongi BSIC Industrial Estate in Gazipur. At the end of the work on 31 March, the factory was closed with the wages of the workers. They left the country on the same day. The factory was scheduled to open on April 5. Mosammat Rabeya Begum returned to Tongi from Navinar village of Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha with her husband that morning. Come and get the factory closed. On the same day, at around 12 noon, Rabia met me at their rented house in the field area of ​​Pagar Society. He said that the two of them earn over 20,000 rupees per month including overtime. So the village and the two families here.

Rabea said that the night before, he had returned by truck, on foot, with great difficulty — ‘If one day we are absent, there is nothing to be done. ‘

Police stopped the car on the way. The driver took extra money. It costs about 2 thousand rupees. Paid home from March’s salary. There is no money in hand now with car rental. Rabia said, “There is no more Tawfiq to eat at home.”

Mosammat Nazma Akhter lives with her husband and young son in a rented house in East Gopalpur area of ​​Tongi. She and her husband are both garment workers.

Nazma said they went to their village home in Sherpur, Bogra on March 25, knowing the factory would be closed until April 4. In early April, the government extended the general holiday. Nazma thought, their holiday will also increase.

In Nazma’s words, “If the government forbids 100 people to go together in a mosque, how can two or three thousand people work in a garment factory?”

Nazma knew that Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi had said that garment factories could be kept open in compliance with hygiene rules. However, he waited until the evening of March 3 for a decision from the BGMEA, the government or the factory owner.

Meanwhile, when I called the managers in the office, they asked me to return soon. “If the owner keeps it open, and if the job goes away at this time, I am forced to risk my life for fear of this,” said Nazma.

Returning to Tongi on the night of April 4, Nazma heard BGMEA requesting the factory to close. His question is, “Is this one of our sufferings, those who were in the village, they were at home, that millions of people came back to Dhaka city, is it not a sign of ignorance of BGMEA or the government?”

But the question is mere ignorance? Isn’t it the ultimate expression of self-interest and ridicule of an influential person?

The Commerce Minister is a former president of the BGMEA, an association of garment owners. In the last 20 days, BGMEA and BKMEA, an organization of knitwear owners, have agreed to keep the factory open more than once. The Ministry of Labor has repeatedly said that the factory can be kept open in strict adherence to hygiene rules in case of emergency, including the manufacture of safety equipment.

Finally, the two owners’ organizations made a clear joint announcement to close the factory until April 14. He said that only by informing the organization, the work of making PPE and urgent export purchase order can continue.

Let’s go. We believe in making decisions step by step. Today I thought I would do so much, tomorrow I thought I would increase the strictures a little more. The leave is extended by two days. I want to take the coronavirus step by step or chase it away with a little cooler air.

Meanwhile, Rabea could not return to the country now even if the corona-closure or lockdown did not continue. His March salary is over, the rest of the store is uncertain. He said, “There is no guarantee that he will get the next salary or not.”

From now on, the factory work order is being canceled. He needs to know whether the factory will run or not. “We have nothing but garments,” he said. Shall I go home? ‘

Nazma is also waiting. First, for the March salary. Second, he heard, the government would provide assistance for three months’ salary-allowance. Want to know how and when to get it.

BGMEA and BKMEA have requested the member organizations to pay the March salary by April 18. On my way back from Tongi at night, I called BGMEA vice president Arshad Jamal. He said that most of the factories have stopped working under Section 17 (2) of the Labor Act.

In this way, the workers will get salary and allowance for 45 days after the closure of the lay-off rule. House rent, medical allowance and food allowance in full, and half of the basic salary. If the factory is closed for at least another 15 days, the workers will receive one-fourth of the basic wages and allowances. However, the law says, in that case, the owner can also make the cut by explaining what he deserves under section 20 of the law.

Arshad Jamal says that if the factory loses its job and sits on the road, there may be such cuts. If the shutdown lasts for so many days, the work of the factories will get complicated.

But the owners have been talking about these problems for a long time and have been seeking benefits from the government. The government has also announced multiple financial incentives. One of these is the commercial loan facility to pay workers like Rabia Nazmad for three months till June.

In order to get this loan, the company has to show regular salary and proof of export. The lender bank will send the salary money directly to the worker’s bank or mobile account. The salary will be based on the average salary of the previous three months.

Speaking of which, I understand that the industrialists do not think that the way to pay these loans and salaries is very easy. You have to pay, that’s a complication. Whether the half-salary is equal to the average salary for three months under the lay-off rule can also be debated.

But without it, transfer or temporary workers

Related Articles

Back to top button