Urmi Group: A unique example of worker-friendly organisation

According to the workers and officials of the factory, Fakhruddin Textile Mill not only provides its workers with the facility of buying products at fair prices but also with various other worker-friendly facilities. 

Shurid, a fair price retail shop, has been set up inside the factory premises of Fakhruddin Textile Mill Limited in Gazipur exclusively for the workers of the mill, a sister concern of Urmi Group.

The shop is selling different food products and essentials to the workers at up to 18 percent discount.

Ayesha Khatun, who has been working in the textile mill for three years, relies on the fair price shop for buying the essentials for her family.

She does most of her grocery shopping twice a month at the shop. After receiving the salary, she buys the daily necessities, including rice, pulses, soap and oil from there.

After finishing her work, she does the shopping at Shurid and goes home directly from the workplace, which not only saves her time but also gives her relief from the hassle of going to any kitchen market.

"The biggest advantage is that if you buy products of Tk1,000 from Shurid, you can save around Tk150 to Tk200. Besides, the quality of the products of this shop is also good. Moreover, the salespersons of the shop are very cordial," said Ayesha.

Tozammel Haque, a salesman at Shurid, said the store remained open from 8 am to 7 pm every day except on weekly holidays. 

In February, products worth a total of Tk57 lakh were sold, he said. 

Of the amount, The amount of dues was Tk39 lakh, he added.

The first ten days of the month, sales are relatively low as the workers have to buy products by paying cash during this time.

However, the sales increase over the next 20 days as they can buy goods during this time keeping dues. At the end of the month, the workers can buy products by paying the dues.

Md Razib Hossain, supervisor of Shurid, said the factory now had 6,500 workers. Of them, 4,500 workers regularly purchase products from this shop. The daily sales of this shop stand at around Tk2 lakh.

Photo: Collected

According to the workers and officials of the factory, Fakhruddin Textile Mill not only provides its workers with the facility of buying products at fair prices but also with various other worker-friendly facilities. 

Sathi Akhter, who has been working in this factory as an operator for five years, became a mother four months ago.

The factory had given her the privilege to take care of her child, said Sathi.

"My house is located near the factory. I come to my workplace at 8 am in the morning. Then around 9 am, I send breast milk in a special bag to my home for my child. Either someone comes from home to take it or any staff of the factory goes to my home to deliver the milk. The breastfeeding centre of the factory also has a storage facility for breast milk," said Sathi.

At 10:30 am, she is given a 30-minute break for going home to breastfeed her baby. There is also a one-hour break for lunch at one o'clock in the afternoon. Her duty hours end at 4 pm.

Kahniur Akhter, welfare officer of Urmi Group, said that this facility was being given to not only Sathi Akhter but also to 35 other lactating mothers. It continues until the child is one year of age.

She said, "Apart from these facilities, the company gives allowances to lactating mothers from the government's 'Working Lactating Mother Assistance Fund.' 

Another female worker of the factory named Sathi Akter is going on 16-week maternity leave. She said, "I was given Tk3,200 extra along with my wage in the month of February."

Kohinoor said Sathi had been given the amount as an advance of four months from the government's fund. 

She would get the allowance for 36 months, she said.

Sathi would receive a total of Tk28,800 in several installments, she further said.

In the first phase, 91 female workers of the factory got the allowance and in the second phase, 65 women workers were getting it, she added.

The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs is providing female workers with monthly allowances from the "Working Lactating Mother Assistance Fund" through the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) so that working lactating mothers can buy nutritious food.

Photo: Collected

The factory has also been providing free sanitary napkins to female workers for seven years. They give the female workers sanitary napkins at the beginning of the month. 

Besides, napkins are kept in a specific box on each floor of the factory under the supervision of a welfare officer. Women workers can take it in case of any emergency.

Abul Kalam, head of Human Resource department at Urmi Group, said, "There is a lack of awareness about the use of sanitary napkins during menstruation in our country. So we are providing sanitary napkins to every female worker. It has reduced the health risks of our women workers. Our company spends Tk25 lakh annually for this purpose.

Rehana Begum, who has been working at Fakhruddin Textile Mills Ltd for five years, said, "I was in another factory before joining here. Sanitary napkins were not provided there. Even, I was not even aware of using sanitary napkins, which caused various problems."

Meanwhile, the factory hired 582 people, including 54 management officers, from June to December last year whereas workers of other factories were worried about losing their jobs during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We always take care of our employees; stimulus packages help us to continue workers' wellbeing practices during the pandemic," said Asif Ashraf, managing director of Urmi Group.

He said, "We did not sack any employees during the pandemic. Although the production was very low for a few months during the period, we had recruited more than 500 workers."

"We always give priority to the wellbeing of the workers. That is why we started the fair price shop Shurid. Although we have to bear some extra expenses for running the shop, it is benefiting the workers," he added.

The annual turnover of the group in 2018-19 was $174 million.

Due to the Covid-19, the company has incurred a loss of about $20 million. 

Photo: Collected

However, it has a projection to reach $207 million in 2019-20 from its seven garment, Textile, printing and embroidery units, including a Platinum LEED Green certified factory.

The group has created employment opportunities for about 12,500 people in the apparel and textile sector. 

It has investment in five diversified clusters --textile, garments, agriculture, navigation and shipping. 

Urmi Group stepped into the realm of business through a brickfield in 1955. 

A collaboration between The Business Standard and  Shojag Coalition.