Workers strike at RMG factories across Bangladesh Saturday

Tuba Group Sramik Sangram Committee has called a strike at all readymade garment factories across Bangladesh for Saturday.

The worker action committee are pressing for several demands including payment of all dues to all workers, including those of Tuba Group, who are into the second week of a hunger strike for pay.

The committee's announcement came through a statement sent to the media on Friday night.

The statement, signed by Garment Workers Trade Union Centre's General Secretary Qazi Ruhul Amin, said the strike was called demanding payment of dues to all garment workers across the country.

They are also demanding exemplary punishment to Tuba Group Managing Director Delwar Hossain after scrapping his bail, a stop to sacking and harassment of workers and filing cases against them.

The strike is also to protest against the arrests of agitating labour leaders and attack on the workers.

While on a hunger strike at Badda's Tuba garment factory on Aug 5, Tuba Group Sramik Sangram Committee Convenor Moshrefa Mishu had threatened to call a strike across Bangladesh's industrial zones for Saturday.

Friday's statement said the workers organised street rallies and took out marches at Narayanganj's Kanchpur, Shiddhirganj, Chittagong, Ashulia, Savar, Tongi, Joydebpur, Konabarhi, Maona, Mirpur and Tejgaon in the lead-up to the strike.

Police charged baton and took away the banners from the workers leaving a number of them injured.

The demonstrators urged all RMG workers to join the strike.

Tuba Group Sramik Sangram Committee member Jolly Talukder said the committee comprised 15 labour organisations.

"Other labour organisations always support demonstrations for fair demands.

"We are determined to make tomorrow's programme successful even though we know either the owners or police will try to create obstacles," she told bdnews24.com.

Workers from five Tuba Group factories went on a hunger strike for nearly two weeks demanding salaries, allowances of three months and Eid bonuses.

Since the Group's owner Delwar Hossain was behind bars in a case over the 2012 fire at his Tazreen Fashions factory that killed over 110 workers, the BGMEA announced to pay the agitating workers salaries for two months.

The workers snubbed the BGMEA offer and continued demonstration.

On Thursday, police charged baton and used pepper spray to evict the protesters from the Group's factory premises in Hossain Market at the capital's Badda.

Both Mishu and Jolly were detained at that time but were later released.

After police action, a number of workers went to the BGMEA and accepted two months' salaries. Many of them said they had no other option.