A Correspondent:
Gazipur: Production has been suspended at six garment factories in Gazipur since Sunday morning, as the authorities have closed them indefinitely. Approximately 14,000 workers were employed in the fac-tories.
The decision was made to ensure the safety of the staff and workers, as well as to protect factory proper-ty under Section 13 (1) of the Bangladesh Labour Law-2006.
The factories include Tuska Jeans Ltd., Tuska Trousers Limited, Tuska Processing Ltd., Tuska Packaging Ltd., Tuska Denim Ltd., and Tuska Washing Ltd.
Notices posted on the main gates of the factories indicate that some workers and outsiders disrupted pro-duction on Saturday, leading to unrest.
Due to the unrest and to protect the lives and property, the garment authorities decided to suspend pro-duction indefinitely from Sunday.
Masum Hossain, General Manager of the factories, said operations would resume once a conducive working environment is established.
Abu Taleb, Senior Superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, said while the authorities were willing to address some of the workers’ demands, the lack of solidarity from the workers led to the decision to issue a closure notice.
Several hundred workers demonstrated outside the factories, demanding payment of their dues, attend-ance bonuses, night shift allowances, and meal allowances on Saturday.