Workers of a readymade garment factory in Bangladesh came down to the streets of Dhaka to protest what they are saying is a sudden closure of the apparel manufacturing factory.
About two hundred enraged workers of Gold Star Design Limited, located on Kazi Nazrul Islam Avenue, were seen holding banners and attempting to block the road on July 10, 2018. Many of them said they had arrears and bonus pending with the factory.
According to what the workers highlighted in the banner they were wielding, they were demonstrating against the sudden closure and demanding four months’ pay, Eid bonus, clearance of wages for the workers on maternity leave, and a proper severance package.
Shahina Khatun, a protestor, told Apparel Resources that most of the workers had four months’ pay pending and that they did not receive the bonus for Eidu-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival for Muslims.
Apparel Resources went up to the factory and found it to be sealed. A notice hung on the gates stated that the factory is in the process of being shifted to Tongi, Gazipur.
Also, team AR tried to contact the authorities of Gold Star Design Limited, but no one responded. Personal contact number of the factory’s Managing Director Nasir Hossain was found switched off.
It is to be noted that back on April 16, the workers of this factory had taken to the streets demanding due arrears and pay. It is likely that Gold Star Design Limited was one of the factories on the list of 1,200 critical factories which had risk of creating labour unrest because of non-capacity to pay the workers ahead of Eid.
