FBCCI wants strike called off to woo investment

The FBCCI has urged the BNP-led alliance to call off its Monday’s general strike saying it will damage Bangladesh’s chances of wooing investment.

The 20-Party Alliance announced the dawn-to-dusk shutdown protesting against the 16th Amendment empowering Parliament to sack Supreme Court judges.

Bangladesh’s apex business body in a media statement on Sunday argued that strikes before the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha was hindering important economic activities.

BNP’s key ally Jamaat-e-Islami enforced a 48-hour shutdown on Sept 18 and Sunday protesting against war criminal Delwar Hossain Sayedee’s ‘life-in-prison’ sentence.

The FBCCI said general strikes would push the economy towards “uncertainty”.

Last year, readymade garment owners’ association BGMEA said a day’s shutdown cost the industry Tk 2 billion while the UNDP said at least 3 to 4 percent of Bangladesh's GDP was lost due to the shutdowns.

Foreign investors have shown interest in Bangladesh thanks to the business and investment-friendly environment, the FBCCI said.

“Continuous shutdown will have negative impacts on the country’s image and discourage investors,” the business body added.