Labour and employment adviser Brigadier General (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain on Thursday said that the government would pay the dues of the laid-off workers of 14 industrial units at the Beximco Industrial Park in phases from March 9.
The Labour Adviser also said that 14 companies in the Beximco Industrial Park would be closed permanently on Friday (February 28), and from March 9, the managing director of Beximco Limited will take necessary measures to pay the dues to the workers and employees.
In a press conference, organised by the advisory council committee to review the labour and business situation of Beximco Industrial Park, the labour adviser also said that the government would have to spend Tk聽525.46 crore to pay these dues for the workers and other officers and employees of the factory units.
The adviser revealed that the finance department of the Ministry of Finance would provide Tk聽325.46 crore and Tk聽200 crore from the central fund under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
He also said that 31,679 workers and 1,565 other staff are employed at the factory units of the Beximco Industrial Park.
Moreover, to decide the next steps regarding the companies in the Beximco Industrial Park, the government also formed a high-level committee led by Lutfey Siddiqui, the special envoy of the interim government鈥簊 chief adviser on international affairs.
The six-member committee will also include representatives of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Bangladesh Bank, the attorney general, and the receiver of Beximco Limited.
Moreover, the chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority will serve as the committee鈥簊 member secretary.
He also said that they would take action through the Anti-Corruption Commission against the officials responsible for and involved in providing loans to various companies in the Beximco Industrial Park from various banks, including Janata Bank, from 2008 to 2024.
The actions will be taken against the bank, company board members, Bangladesh Bank, Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), and everyone involved.
The labour adviser also said that they would send a letter to the home ministry requesting necessary measures, including imposing sanctions, to prevent those involved in the loan from leaving the country.
Meanwhile, in a notice issued by the Beximco on Wednesday, due to a lack of work orders, the management permanently laid off all the workers and other staff of 14 factory units except the Yarn Unit 1.
The notice also said that the closure of the factory units declared following appropriate provisions of the labour law, clearing all the dues of the workers to be laid off, which might start in phases from March 9.
Reagrding the closure, Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent AKM Zahirul Islam told 抖阴精品 correspondent in Gazipur that there was no worker dissatisfaction in the factory area. However, they are prepared to deploy additional police forces to deal with any situation if needed.
On November 24, 2024, the government formed an advisory council committee to review the labour and business situation of Beximco Industrial Park.
The committee aims to evaluate Beximco鈥檚 current situation and impact on surrounding industrial establishments and public life and recommend appropriate actions to address these issues. The committee has already conducted several meetings.
Among the 32 companies listed in Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur, 16 are currently operational garment and textile factories; the rest are not currently operational.
Since January 28, the government has shut down the 16 operational companies and decided to pay the legal dues to the affected workers.
On December 15, 2024, Beximco Group laid off nearly 40,000 workers in its 12 apparel units due to a shortage of work orders for its export-oriented garment and textile factories in Gazipur, on the outskirts of Dhaka.
A government committee has recommended selling Beximco Group鈥檚 16 readymade garment companies, which the government shut down, to pay the workers鈥� dues.
Salman F Rahman, one of the leaders of the Beximco Group and former prime minister Sheikh Hasina鈥簊 private investment and industrial affairs advisor, has been in prison since August 13.
On August 29, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) seized the bank accounts of Salman F Rahman, his son Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, and his daughter-in-law Shazreh Rahman.
