3 labour leaders sacked for demanding dues

Three labour leaders of the state-owned Crescent Jute Mill in Khulna have been sacked for besieging its administrative office to press for the payment of their dues.

The mill authorities specified the cause of the termination in a notice signed by Deputy General Manager Shahadat Hossain at 10pm Monday.

The move sparked protests by thousands of workers, who gathered in front of the mill’s administrative building, remaining there until midnight, said CBA President Murad Hossain.

Collective Bargaining Agent (CBA) General Secretary Hemayet Uddin Azadi, Press Secretary Abdus Salam and Sports Secretary Ismail Hossain have been sacked.

Workers had cordoned off the mill’s administrative building on Sunday to demand the payment of three weeks’ wages.

The mill authorities had earlier announced that the workers would be paid a week’s wages on Sunday, and for another, on Wednesday.

But they re-deposited in the bank on Sunday the money they had withdrawn, claiming the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) had instructed it to not clear workers’ payment.

Almost three thousand workers, enraged on learning that their wage money had been sent back, cordoned off the mill administrative building with officials inside.