Close on heels of Bangladesh entering a 7-day lockdown, during which export-oriented industries have, however, been allowed to operate, Garment Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (GSKOP), a garment workers’ union, has alleged that factory owners were not arranging sufficient transport to enable the workers reach their respective workplaces.
According to media reports, in a statement issued in this direction on 15 April (Thursday), GSKOPjoint coordinators, Kamrul Hasan and Abdul Wahed, underlined that the factory owners were repeatedly going back on their words while adding that they have acquired permission to keep factories open on the condition they will ensure transportation for workers following safety rules under their own management, but stated that factory owners kept their businesses open without ensuring transport for all workers, which the coordinators, reportedly, termed “harassment.”
Further, while demanding proper health safety and allowances for workers who were risking infection by working in the pandemic, GSKOP said: “The coronavirus crisis has shed new light on how these workers risk their lives to keep the production, export and the economy running,” and went on to add that these workers were subject to starvation, lack of treatment, harassment and oppression yet.