Workers of shut factories block road at Ashulia demanding dues

Workers of Lenny Fashion and Lenny Apparels, which shut down four years ago, blocked the Nabinagar-Chandra road in front of Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) at Ashulia today, demanding payment of dues, including service benefits.

The demonstration, which began around 7:30am, was still ongoing as of filing this report at 9:30pm. Traffic on both sides of the road has been on halt since morning, causing severe traffic congestion in the area. 

Talking to The Business Standard in the evening, Industrial Police-1 Superintendent of Police Md Sarwar Alam said workers from the two factories have been blocking the road since morning. 

"We have been in discussions with the DEPZ authorities throughout the day. However, the workers are adamant that they will not leave until they are paid, and Bepza is yet to make a decision. As a result, the situation remains unchanged," he said.  

Workers' demand

Faridul Islam, organising secretary of the National Garments Workers Federation's central committee, told The Business Standard, "Lenny Fashion and Lenny Apparels shut down in 2021 due to financial crises. Despite the closure, the workers' service benefits and other dues remain unpaid."

During their protest, the workers accused the Bepza authorities of repeatedly failing to meet their promises of payment. 

Md Islam, a worker at Lenny Apparels Limited, told The Business Standard, "I am owed Tk44,000, including one month's salary and other dues when the factory shut down four years ago. Not a single penny has been paid yet. Although the authorities have assured payment by 30 November, workers believe the promise will not be kept, prompting them to block the road this morning."

The total dues owed to the workers of the two factories, owned by the same group, amount to approximately Tk59 crore.

What Bepza says

However, when contacted, Bepza Executive Director (Public Relations) Anwar Parvez told The Business Standard that he is unsure from where the deadline of 30 November was communicated to the workers. "I am not aware of any such deadline given by Bepza," he said.

Talking on the issue, he said the two factories were closed due to operational failure and were later put up for auction.

"According to Bepza's procedure, when a factory shuts down abruptly or the owner fails to operate it, a valuation is conducted, and the factory is put up for auction," he explained.

"Typically, the proceeds from the factory sale are then used to settle workers' dues and other liabilities," he said. 

Anwar said Lenny Apparels was successfully sold in May this year, with approval from the Prime Minister's Office. However, Lenny Fashion failed to attract a suitable buyer even after five rounds. Now, Bepza is now planning to issue a new tender to find potential investors for the factory.

"Our initial plan was to settle all dues together once both factories were sold..but now the workers are arguing that since one factory has already been sold, their dues should be cleared from its proceeds.  

"But from Bepza's standpoint, as the two factories are separate entities with entirely different financial records, it is not legally permissible to use funds from one factory's sale to pay the workers of another. This is why the dues cannot be settled in this manner," he explained.

He added, "We are making every effort to sell the remaining factory as soon as possible, and all outstanding payments to workers will be settled from the proceeds."