Tuba garment workers on strike on Eid day

Workers at a Tuba Group garment factory in Dhaka's Badda are continuing their "fast unto death" protest on the Eid-ul-Fitr day, demanding unpaid salaries and festival allowances.

They have refused to call off their agitation, ignoring appeals by the authorities.

"We haven't been paid for three months, and we won't move an inch from here until we are paid," said Md Khokon, the factory's iron supervisor.

He said 12 of his colleagues, nine women and three men, had fallen sick on Monday night. They have been put on saline at the factory.

Tuba Group's Managing Director Delowar Hossain's mother-in-law Laili Begum has been 'confined' at the factory since Monday.

Police's Gulshan zone Assistant Commissioner Nurul Alam said the workers are camping on the factory building's sixth floor where Laili, too, is holed up.

Laili went to the factory in the early hours of Tuesday to pacify the agitating workers, promising to "do something" once the banks opened after the Eid vacation.

But her assurance failed to convince the workers.

Bangladesh Bank, on July 18, had asked all scheduled banks to operate in Dhaka, its neighbouring areas, and Chittagong on July 26.

Police officer Alam said, "The workers are coming down and going up the building in groups from time to time. We are keeping a watch to prevent any unpleasant incident.

"The workers have not tried to create disorder," he said.

The Tuba Group workers have been agitating for their unpaid pay and perks for a while now. Even the BGMEA's intervention has not thrashed out any solution.

A proposal to sell a building floor to pay the workers' dues was considered but did not happen.

On Thursday, workers of five Tuba Group factories demonstrated in front of the BGMEA Bhaban.

One of the group's factories, the Tazreen Fashions Limited, had been reduced to ashes in a devastating fire in November 2012, killing over 110 people.

The group's MD is currently behind bars on charges of criminal negligence endangering the workers' lives.

Around 500 workers gathered in front of the group's Badda factory on Monday morning.

They said their Eid prayers on the factory’s ground floor.

Shilpi Akter, a worker at the factory, said they were living in inhuman condition as they had not been paid for three months.

"I can't return home without money. The landlord, the shop owners, everyone is pressing for money," she said.

Police officer Alam said the local parliamentarian and the police administration had proposed sending food to the demonstrators on Tuesday morning but their offers were snubbed.

However, Shilpi Akter contradicted the claim.

"Police aren't telling the truth," she said. "No-one came to break our fast."