130 garment workers sacked in Gazipur

A total of 130 workers of a garment factory in Konabari of Gazipur were laid off at once citing a shortage of work, triggering anger and tension among the workers on Thursday afternoon.

At one point, several workers reportedly got into a scuffle with a factory official following the sudden announcement of the layoffs.

The incident took place around 5:00 PM at the woven section of Islam Garments Ltd in the Jarun area of Konabari.

According to factory sources, the workers of the woven section were informed at the end of their shift at 5:00 PM that they were being laid off under Section 26 of the Bangladesh Labour Act due to a shortage of work. The 130 laid-off workers were also asked to collect their outstanding dues.

The sudden loss of jobs sparked discontent among the workers. Several workers reportedly got into a scuffle with the factory’s production manager.

While other workers left the factory after their shift, the 130 laid-off workers remained inside the premises. Industrial police were deployed to control the situation.

Mohammad Amzad Hossain, superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, said tension had emerged among the workers over the layoffs.

He said, the factory authorities had assured that the workers’ dues would be paid in accordance with labour law. Industrial police were deployed to prevent any untoward incident.

Attempts were made to contact the authorities of Islam Garments Ltd for their comments, but no response was received as the phone calls went unanswered.