IBC urges RMG workers to resume work, avoid provocation

Industriall Bangladesh Council (IBC), a platform of 19 trade federations, on Monday urged agitating garment workers not to fall for provocation by “vested quarters” and to return to their respective factories.

In a joint statement, IBC President Mir Abul Kalam Azad and General Secretary Salauddin Shapon made the appeal to workers who have been protesting in different industrial areas.

The statement said workers in Gazipur, Mirpur, Ashulia and other areas had been staging protests and other programmes for the past few days, demanding the formation of a wage board and a new minimum wage for garment workers.

In response, the government formed a six-member wage board and published a gazette notification on Sunday.  

However, IBC said it was deeply concerned that unrest continued on the streets in several areas throughout on Sunday and Monday, even after the board’s formation.

“IBC believes a third party is using workers for its own interests, despite the formation of the wage board,” the statement said. It warned that the situation could pose a serious challenge to the garment sector, which competes in the global market.

If the situation continues, Bangladesh’s readymade garment exports could fall behind, and competing countries could take over the lost market share, it added.

Read More

RMG unrest driven by ulterior motives: Minister

Considering the overall situation, IBC urged workers to resist all forms of provocation and anarchy and to return to work at their own factories.

“No genuine worker can ever be involved in an act that amounts to destroying the industry,” the statement said. “If the industry is damaged, it is the workers who will become jobless, and no one will come forward to take responsibility for the unemployed.”

The labour body urged workers to refrain from “dangerous paths” and return to work without delay.

IBC also called on the wage board to complete the wage-fixing process as quickly as possible, so that workers can receive the new wages within the stipulated time, as in the past.