DHAKA: The owners of the garment factories are adopting various tactics to stop workplace changing practice of the workers. The BGMEA is playing main role as its ‘ring leader’ in this ‘foul game’. This resulted in the down trend rate of changing of workplaces from 22 percent to 2 percent in last two months.
A number of labor bodies made the allegations while talking to journalists.
The workers generally acquiring skills are in the practice of changing workplaces according to their choice for more benefits. This rate was 22 to 25 percent in a month. This change practice has sharply come down to 2 percent from 22 percent in last two months. The labor leaders claim that the BGMEA is playing the lead role behind this labor deceiving policy.
The owners have been planning ill-conceived tactics of switch over practice of the workers from last November. Because of this workplace change practice help enhancing the income of the workers.
The workers can also get rid of the oppression carried out on them by changing their workplace. On last November the BGMEA leaders had several secret sittings with the owners.
After several meetings they formulated a decision that after the announcement of minimum wages the owners would not appoint any sizeable number of workers rather the ‘helpers’ would be retrenched.
A garment supervisor claimed that apparently though it would portray as there is no desired number of workers so the production will be less but practically the picture is different.
He informed that without appointing new people the production is increasing because the target of the workers is being increased. If within the stipulated eight hours the target is not achieved the workers are to work extra time. But despite the fact, the owners do not pay over time. It leads to higher production at a less cost. Because though wages have increased the workers are not getting their due over time.
According to a source of textile garments labor federation, as the new appointment is stop now the workers are becoming victims of different types of oppression, they are not leaving the job. For this reason the workplace change has decreased. So the workers have decided not to change the workplace despite oppression on them otherwise if they leave it how they will survive without job.
In reply to queries why new workers are not appointed despite there is less number of labors the BGMEA president Md. Atiqul Islam told Banglanews that it is fact that the change practice has come down to 2 percent from 22 percent.
It is also fact that in some factories the ‘helpers’ are being retrenched. But the owners are not doing at their honest will. They are not capable to bear this extra expenditure. So the appointment process is stop now. The change practice has come down as the appointment is stop.
The general secretary of textile garment workers federation Tapan Saha told that the owners have stopped the appointment process to create pressure on the labors on one side on the other the ‘helpers’ are being retrenched. For it the rate of changing of work place has come down. The skilled labors are losing interest in work. If they change their workplace they might get higher wages. But as the appointment is stop so they cannot proceed forward.
However BGMEA by this time is going to get enhancement of time of repaying the loan period, export loan interest at the rate of less one percent, decreasing of source tax and other several facilities.
It may be mentioned here that on April 24 of last year the workers unitedly started movement to increase their minimum wages after the Rana Plaza tragedy where more than one thousand workers were killed.
Next in the month of November the minimum wage of the worker was refixed at Tk 5300.00 from Tk 3000. But at that time about 20,000 ‘helpers’ were retrenched from several factories and the appointment process were kept closed in almost all the factories.
BDST: 2030 HRS, FEB 15, 2014
