A sweater factory located at Kolma in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka fired all its workers without payment of arrears and shut the factory on Sunday rendering at least 2,450 workers jobless.
1Factory and police sources said the management of Navana Sweaters Limited, a garment unit of Navana Group, had earlier announced a six-day holyday from October 24 on the plea that there was not enough order for delivery.
The workers went to the factory on Saturday morning to report for duty as it was supposed to open on the day after the six-day closure. But they found a notice at the gate which read all workers had been fired from job and the factory had been closed for an indefinite period.
In protest, the workers held a rally outside the factory.
On information, Savar police went to the spot and calmed the situation.
The workers left the place when police assured them that the management would pay their arrears by November 4. But the situation was tense and police reinforcements were sent to the area.
Some workers said that on October 23, local goons backed allegedly by Sohel Rana, general secretary of Savar union Juba League, had ransacked the factory after the management refused to pay them extortion money.
The next day the management shut the factory, the workers said. The sources said the authorities of the factory had filed a case in this connection with Savar police station.
When approached, Sohel Rana denied the allegation and said some people were plotting against him.
The workers said their basic salaries for two months, night allowance for six months and other bills remained outstanding.
The factory’s deputy general manager Delwar Hossain said the factory had been incurring losses for last several months. ‘We have declared the factory closed according to section 20 of the labour act 2006,’ he said.
He refused comments on the case but said it had become difficult to continue business in the area.
The officer-in-charge of Savar police station, Mahbubur Rahman, told New Age that the management had announced the closure of the factory through a letter.
A case was filed with the police station by the management accusing a group of miscreants of assaulting some officers of the factory, he said.
