Tripartite deal: Garment owners to issue appointment letters to workers
By UNB, Dhaka
The New Nation, Bangladesh
The issuance of appointment letters and identity cards by the owners of garment factories, a long-felt demand of thousands of workers, will begin on July 1.
A tripartite 16-point deal to this effect was signed today
(Wednesday) by the representatives of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and 16 garment workers’ organisations.
BGMEA second vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy presided over the signing ceremony held at the BGMEA conference room in the afternoon, with acting president of FBCCI Mohammad Ali present as chief guest.
Speaking on the occasion, acting president of FBCCI called upon the owners and workers of the apparel industry to resolve all their problems through dialogue.
He said the country has fallen 3-4 years behind in terms of its reputation due to the recent mayhem by garment workers in and around the capital.
BGMEA second vice president Abdus Salam Murshedy and BKMEA director MA Baset urged the workers’ leaders to ensure that there is no repetition of workers unrest in the apparel sector.
Leaders of 16 workers organisations present at the function included president of Swadhin Bangla Garment Sramik Federation Shamima Nasrin, president of Jatiya Garment Sramik League Selim Reza, president of Jatiya Garment Sramik Karmachari League Sirajul Islam Rony and general secretary of Jatiya Garment Sramik Federation Amirul Haque Amin.
The 16 conditions agreed upon in the tripartite deal are:
To express regret for the damage caused by the recent workers’ unrest that hit the apparel industry and providing subsidy by the government to compensate for the damage;
2. To forma a judicial inquiry committee headed by a judge and taking punitive measures against those responsible for the unrest;
3. To withdraw all cases filed against the workers;
4. No termination of workers involved with May 22 and May 23 movement;
5. Immediate reopening of the closed factories to restore normalcy;
6. To issue appointment letters and identity cards to all workers from July 1;
7. No obstruction to trade unionism and combined bargaining;
8. One-day weekly holiday for workers and other holidays as per labour law;
9. Overtime allowance to regular workers;
10. Maternity leave with pay;
11. To implement minimum wages for the workers to be re-fixed by the Minimum Wage Board;
12. To constitute bipartite monitoring committee to supervise implementation of the 16-point deal;
13. To keep all the RMG factories free from terrorists and extortionists;
14. BGMEA and BKMEA to take effective steps to ensure a physical and mental repression-free environment for the workers;
15. To work together to resolve the existing problems in the apparel sector and to increase productivity; and
16. To discuss the other issues later.
Earlier, another 10-point tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed recently by the representatives of the government, owners and workers.
© Copyright 2003 by The New Nation
