RMG workers Savar demo ends as Pride Group factories agree to clear dues following layoffs

Workers from two readymade garment factories of Pride Group – HR Textile Mills and Fashion Knit Garments – demonstrated in front of their factories in Savar today (7 April) demanding the immediate reopening of their factories.

They protested by staging a sit-in in front of their factories around 7:30am, said police.

Later, a meeting was held between the representatives of the workers and the factory authorities in the presence of law enforcement officials around 12:30pm, during which an agreement was signed stating that all the dues of the workers will be paid by May.

When asked about the worker unrest, Managing Director (Administration and Compliance) of the factories Monirul Islam told TBS, "We have already reached a solution in the presence of all parties, including army, Industrial Police, representatives of the owners and the workers. The situation is currently normal and an agreement has been signed after reaching a solution through discussions."

The Business Standard has obtained a copy of the agreement, which says workers' salaries for March will be paid by 15 April, and the authorities will try their best to pay salaries for the first six days of April.

Besides, other benefits of the workers will be paid by the authorities by 10 May in line with the Bangladesh Labour Law 2006.

The resignation and dismissal of workers will be dealt with as per the Labour Law, and dues in these cases will be cleared within 30 working days, the agreement said.

According to the workers, the garment divisions of the factories had announced layoffs without prior consultation.

Production at the factories was about to start today after the Eid vacation. When the workers arrived at the factories in the morning, they found a notice at the entrances with the layoff announcement, workers said.

The workers then took positions in front of the factories and started to protest.

According to the notices, layoffs have been declared at the two factories till 30 April.

The textile division, administration (Partial) and security division of HR Textile Mills Limited along with the administration (Partial) and security division of Fashion Knit Garments Limited will remain operational, said the notices.

Confirming the matter, Monirul told The Business Standard, "The decision was taken due to gas shortage, financial complexity and reduction of work orders.

"The authorities are working to solve the problem and I hope the two factories will restart their production soon after solving the crises," Monirul added.

Monirul further said the factory authorities had cleared all dues of the workers before announcing the Eid vacation.

Wishing anonymity, a female worker from Fashion Knit told TBS, "Although the factory was to be opened today, we found a notice which stated that the factory will remain closed till 30 April upon arriving for work in the morning. The authorities did not discuss the matter with us before taking the decision.

"At first, the authorities told us that the workers would get 50% of their salaries during the closure. How will we run our families with this short amount of money? We urge the authorities to either reopen the factory or let us go after clearing our outstanding dues. We will find jobs someplace else," the female worker said.

A worker of HR Textile Mills Limited said, "Problems are arising regularly as there has not been enough work at the factory for a long time. We urge the owners to either reopen the factory or clear our dues and let us go if they fail to keep the factory operational."

According to factory sources, the two factories had been facing financial pressure due to Covid-19 pandemic and Russia-Ukraine war.

Currently, the two factories are facing a tough time due a shortage of work orders resulting from financial complexity and not getting enough gas in due time, sources said.

Meanwhile, members of the army and Industrial Police have been deployed in the area to keep the situation normal, police added.