The Jatiya Sramik Karmachari Sangram Parishad on Sunday called for the reopening of 26 closed state-owned jute mills and other mills after modernisation.
The platform made the demand at a press conference at the National Press Club.
Abdullah Kafi Ratan, a member of the parishad who presented the keynote speech, said that the ousted fascist Awami League government, without considering the livelihoods of 50,000 workers and thousands of jute farmers, shut down 26 state-owned jute mills on July 2, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.聽
In the same year, on December 1, the Awami League government shut down six out of 15 state-owned sugar mills, citing losses as the reason.
Mentioning that the Professor Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, upon the recommendation of an 11-member task force formed on September 30, agreed to reopen the closed sugar mills in phases, the labour leader described this decision as 鈥榓 historic victory for the movement to reopen closed mills.鈥�
He said that the aim of the ruling class鈥檚 imperialist-dependent neoliberal policies was to hand over state-owned industrial enterprises to private ownership, which is a direct attack on workers, farmers, and the toiling masses.
鈥業t is a high time to build a national movement to resist the anti-people policies of the government, which serves the interests of imperialism and the exploitative ruling class,鈥� he added.
Manos Nandi, president of the central committee of the Bangladesh Sramik Karmachari Federation, emphasised the need for a fair policy to make sugar mills viable and profitable.
Jatiya Sramik Karmachari Songram Parishad convener Md Harunur Rashid Bhuiyan presided over the event.
