18 demands of workers to be met, all factories to be open from tomorrow: Secretary
Representatives of factory owners and workers have agreed upon 18 demands addressing labour concerns, Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment AHM Safiquzzaman said today (24 September).
The decision came on Tuesday after extensive discussions between 35 representatives of both sides at a meeting held in the ministry's conference room at the Secretariat.
Secretary AHM Safiqzzaman said it has also been decided to open all industrial factories across the country from tomorrow.
Adviser to the Ministry of Labour and Employment Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan, Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, and Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter were present at the meeting.
At the meeting, the owners accepted the workers' demands in view of the ongoing labour unrest in the country, including allocating tiffin bill, implementing minimum wage in all factories by 10 October, paying ration through TCB and OMS in labour intensive areas, and clearing workers' arrears by 10 October.
Other key demands include ensuring adequate compensation and rehabilitation for the families of the deceased federation members and workers, the immediate withdrawal of false cases filed against garment workers during the recent wage protests, stopping the illegal blacklisting of workers, and cancelling all previous blacklists.