Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association has decided to reopen all the readymade garment factories in the labour unrest-affected industrial areas in Ashulia and Gazipur today.
Although Friday was the weekly holiday, many of the factories in Gazipur were in operation on the day to minimize the production loss caused by the labour unrest since July 28.
From the first week of August, RMG exporters faced severe disruption of production as the authorities of several hundred factories failed to run their units due to labour unrest.
RMG workers in the Ashulia and the Gazipur industrial zones continued their protests for over two weeks demanding increased attendance and tiffin allowances, full attendance allowance despite taking leave, recruitment of more male workers, a better male-to-female ratio, and changes in management in some units following the change in government.
Given the circumstances, many factory owners were compelled to declare general holidays on several occasions with payment, while some others announced indefinite closures under section 13/1 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, which聽 stipulates 鈥榥o work, no pay鈥�.
Meanwhile, workers at many of the factories that had remained shut have been negotiating with the authorities and have agreed to resume work, according to industry sources.
With the consent of workers, nearly 30 per cent of factories in Gazipur resumed operation on Friday.
With the assistance of police, military, and other law enforcement agencies, production activities at these factories resumed early in the morning on Friday, and there was not a single report of disturbance until the afternoon of the day.
BGMEA director Shovon Islam said that the situation in Gazipur was better than that in Ashulia and some of the factories in Gazipur were operational on Friday to minimize production loss due to the recent labour unrest.
He said that factory owners typically preferred not to operate on Fridays unless there was pressure to meet shipment deadlines.
Shovon also said that the members of BGMEA decided to reopen all the factories in the Ashulia region on Saturday.
Following a meeting in Ashulia on Friday, the local political leaders and factory owners agreed to keep all units open and resume production, he said.
