RMG workers of 3 Savar factories protest by stopping work

Despite her injuries, the factory management did not take effective measures to rescue her and take her to hospital

TBS report

November 2, 2024, 12:40 PM

Last modified: November 2, 2024, 3:15 PM

Workers at three RMG factories in Savar abstained from work and protested against the injury of a colleague on November 2. Photo: TBS

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Workers at three RMG factories in Savar abstained from work and protested against the injury of a colleague on November 2. Photo: TBS

Workers at two garment factories in Savar’s Hemayetput – Vertex Group and Standard Group – walked off work and went on strike today (November 2), demanding compensation for the injury of a female worker.

As of this afternoon, workers have cleared the area. According to Vertex Group employees, 18 of the 26 demands were accepted by the owners.

According to a senior staff of Standard Group, the employees held a meeting with the owners and resolved the issues.

A public holiday has been declared today and regular work will resume from tomorrow (November 3).

Earlier today, employees of Neo Fashion Limited, part of the Vertex Group, claimed that a female worker was seriously injured in her leg by a container truck at the factory last Thursday (October 31) around 7pm.

Despite her injuries, the factory management did not take effective measures to rescue her and take her to hospital.

She was taken in a pick-up van to Enam Medical College Hospital in Savar in critical condition where she continues to receive treatment.

This morning, the factory workers stopped work and started protesting inside the factory, demanding adequate compensation for the care and maintenance of the injured female worker.

Although the factory management declared a public holiday today due to the protest, the workers remained within the factory premises and continued their demonstration.

In addition, the workers said they have several demands beyond compensation for injured workers, including an end to mandatory overtime and not being forced to work on scheduled days off.

The other demands of the workers are yet to be announced. At the time of filing this report at 11am, they were still occupying the factory premises.

Meanwhile, workers at Savar’s Standard Group factories – The Civil Engineers Oven Ltd and The Civil Engineers Wash Ltd – stopped work and demanded the dismissal of several staff.

Seeking anonymity, an official of the factory said the management agreed to some of the workers’ demands when they protested a few days ago.

At that time, management also decided to lay off some staff members, the official said.

However, workers are now demanding that these layoffs be announced directly by the owners, and not just the officers. This demand has led to the continuation of their strike, the official added.

Earlier, when the workers at the factory protested with various demands, the management declared both factories closed indefinitely from October 30 under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labor Act.

After a reconciliation meeting between workers and owners on October 31, it was decided to reopen the factories from November 1.

Some of the demands made during the previous protest included increased compensation for night shifts, attendance bonuses and the payment of accrued leave days.

Of these, management had agreed and issued notices for 22 demands, covering the majority of workers’ requests.