Opposition leader and Jamaat-e-Islami amir Dr Shafiqur Rahman has said that if workers survive, industry will survive. Urging the government to decide quickly to ensure garment workers’ fair dues, he said the longer the decision is delayed, the more the industry’s losses will grow. The Jamaat amir said this in a video message on Wednesday (November 4) afternoon.
In the message he said that for the past few days garment workers in different industrial areas of the country have been protesting over pay rises and other demands. Many factories are closed because of the protests, and there has been vandalism and arson in one or two places.
Expressing concern about events in Gazipur, he said: “Yesterday a garment worker from Gaibandha named Toufiq was killed in Sreepur, Gazipur. I strongly condemn this killing and firmly demand that whoever is responsible be brought to justice quickly through a fair investigation.”
Calling ready-made garments the country’s main export sector, Shafiqur Rahman said any major disaster in the sector would hurt the whole economy. They had hoped the government would quickly reach a reasonable solution to the problem, he said.
The Jamaat amir said that with prices of essentials rising, it is impossible for workers to live on low pay. The pay structure should have been reorganised quickly through talks with all sides, taking their demands into account, which the government has not yet done. Just as it is true that if industry survives the country survives, the reality that if workers survive industry survives must also be remembered, he said.
He said the government should decide quickly on workers getting their fair dues; the longer the process is delayed, the more the sector’s losses will grow. In such situations many opportunists try to exploit the situation in various ways, and the government and everyone concerned must show sincerity and caution, he said.
Expressing sympathy for the protesting workers, the Jamaat amir said: “Keep your own factories alive. We stand for your fair rights. Only if industry survives will you survive.”
At the same time he asked owners to treat workers as members of their own family, saying that would make the decision easier.
At the end of his message Shafiqur Rahman prayed for the soul of the killed worker Toufiq and expressed deep sympathy to his bereaved family. “Stay well, everyone. Praying for Toufiq’s soul and offering deep sympathy to his bereaved family, I take my leave for today. We will talk again and meet again,” he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report