BAT factory closure prolongs 'as authorities refuse to accept' protesting workers' demands

The Kushtia Leaf Factory of British American Tobacco (BAT) has remained closed for 22 days amid a prolonged protest by seasonal workers "as authorities refuse to accept" the protesters' demands, despite government instructions.

The workers have been staging a sit-in in front of the factory to press home their 22-point demands, including the issuance of appointment letters and the settlement of provident fund and gratuity since 23 April.

The demands also include payment of due profit shares since 2012 and reinstatement of workers unlawfully kept outside employment, all in accordance with the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006.

"Our 22-point demands are absolutely reasonable, which is why the government has agreed with our demands, but the authorities have not accepted those demands and have made negligible proposals, which is why it has not been possible for us to accept them," said Sabbir Ahmed, one of the protesters.

Protesters allege that the BAT factory in Kushtia has violated government instructions, as well as section 45 of the Labour Law, which has led to dissatisfaction among the company's seasonal workers.

BAT says it hopes for peaceful solution

The BAT authorities did not immediately respond to The Business Standard's queries in this regard.

However, in a statement, a BAT Bangladesh spokesperson said in recent times, a group of former seasonal workers at our Green Leaf Threshing Plant (GLTP) in Kushtia has raised numerous demands.

"Steps have already been taken to address most of the raised demands where appropriate, in order to achieve an effective end to the current disruption. However, based on our legal interpretation, the remaining few demands appear to fall outside the provisions of Bangladesh's Labour Laws."

"We are thankful to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Kushtia and the Superintendent of Police (SP) for addressing the issue and initiating multiple meetings to resolve the matter on 13 May. 

"As part of our commitment to employee wellbeing, BATB has placed an offer of enhanced benefits to all seasonal employees, which is in line with the requests by the DC. This will be offered in the form of season opening and closing bonuses and enhanced medical support among others, above the existing salary package."

The company also agreed to reinstate the eleven workers who were not required to be employed during the 2024 season. Taking these offers into consideration, the DC and SP requested the protesting seasonal workers to comply and let the judiciary matters progress as per the law of the land. 

"However, to the disappointment of all, the seasonal worker representatives rejected this request," reads the statement.

The statement further said, due to the shutdown of the factory, BATB is not being able to process tobacco, which is having a severe impact on all parties involved with the business. More than 50,000 farmers across the country are suffering as they are not being able to sell their produce on time, which is a perishable agricultural product. More than 2,500 third party employees, who are engaged in the Kushtia factory have remained unemployed during this period. Farmer representatives for Kushtia and representatives from all third-party labourers have also raised their concerns to the DC and administrators regarding the dire impact of the ongoing protest. 

The company's logistics and administrative processes in Kushtia – as well as the company's export commitments - have also been severely impacted, which is all resulting in severe financial consequences for the business and the overall economy. 

"It is extremely disappointing to hear that the protesting workers are threatening other workers, who are willing to return to work and have already accepted offer letters. This indicates that the movement is being driven by a few with vested interests, rather than being driven by the collective voice of the broader workforce. 

"With the support of all relevant stakeholders, we hope for a peaceful resolution to the protests at the earliest to avoid further negative impact to the business and all the relevant stakeholders," the statement added.

BAT officials sued

Amid the protest, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) has filed a criminal case against four senior officials of the British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh for violating the country's labour law.

The accused include BAT Managing Director Monisha Abraham, head of Operations Jorge Luis Macedo, secretary and senior legal counsel Syed Afzal Hossain, and Mukit Ahmed Chowdhury, GLT plant manager of BAT's leaf factory, located beside the Kushtia-Jhenaidah highway in Kushtia town.

The case was filed by DIFE in Kushtia, with Labour Inspector Farjun Islam as the complainant, confirmed Farhad Ohab, deputy chief inspector of the Kushtia DIFE office, to The Business Standard on 30 April.

Kushtia Deputy Commissioner Taufiqur Rahman took several initiatives in hopes of a peaceful resolution to the labour unrest and factory closures, but those initiatives also failed.

On 28 April, a dialogue was held at the DC's office involving BAT officials and labour representatives. However, with the workers remaining steadfast in their demands and BAT showing no signs of flexibility, the talks concluded without any progress.

A second round of talks was held on 13 May, with discussions stretching from 11am to 6:30pm after a short break. Yet again, the negotiations ended without resolution, as BAT reportedly declined to accept the workers' demands.

"BAT is making fun of us. The highest policymaker of the district, the DC, called both our parties for a peaceful solution, but BAT did not accept our reasonable demands. This time too, they have only come to make us listen to their same old memorised words. They will not accept our demands, but they are making maximum efforts to start the factory," Abdus Salam, one of the protesters, said after the negotiations broke down.

Salam said a similar incident happened in 2023.

"They betrayed us at the time by saying they would gradually accept our demands if the factory started. But they did not accept our demands, instead, they dismissed 16 people. This time too, they are walking on the same path; they are saying that if the factory starts, they will try to fulfil the demands in stages," he added.

"Such promises are traps. Since the government has expressed solidarity with our demands, how can they [BAT] ignore our demands and offer to start the factory?"

Another protesting worker, Firoz Ahmed, said they will continue the sit-in protest as long as it takes.

"Since BAT will not accept our demands, we will not back down from our sit-in programme," he said.

"A conspiracy is being hatched against us. There are rumours that some kind of untoward incident will happen to us, and that if anything happens, all BAT officials and their business partners will be responsible for it," he alleged.

Meanwhile, in a statement, BAT has warned that if the workers' dissatisfaction continues, the Kushtia factory will be permanently closed.

Disclaimer: The story has been updated to remove an anonymous quote mistakenly attributed to BAT authorities