Female garment worker dies after being forced to work despite sickness

A garment worker died at a factory in Dhaka’s Ashulia on Friday after the management denied her leave for sickness and imposed persistent psychological pressure on her to continue work at full capacity.

A case over unnatural death has already been filed, and police are investigating whether the factory authorities played a role in the tragic incident, said Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Tariqul Islam.

The victim – Sumi Akter alias Mishu, 27 – was a sewing operator at Agami Apparels Ltd under Deco Group. She lived with her husband and two children at a rented house in Noapara Kathgara of Ashulia, and hailed from Dimla area of Nilphamari.

A CCTV footage supplied by the company shows Sumi working at her sewing machine at 5:01pm on the day of the incident.

A male official is seen repeatedly marching towards her working spot in an aggressive manner, and banging on her machine, apparently in a bid to pressure her into working with increased diligence.

At one point, the official grabs the piece of cloth Sumi works with from her hands and dumps it on the ground.

Soon afterwards, Sumi collapses down to the floor, and is rushed to the factory’s medical centre.

One colleague promptly phoned Sumi’s husband, Sajjad Hossain, informing him about her health conditions.

Sajjad rushed towards the factory gates with other relatives, but the authorities only allowed him to pass through.

Upon reaching the factory’s medical centre, Sajjad saw his wife being kept on oxygen support, while four to five others were tightly held her arms and legs in a bid to restrain her, he told reporters.

Soon, she was shifted to the Ashulia Women and Children’s Hospital, where the doctors pronounce her dead.