DHAKA, Jan 31, 2019 (BSS) – The government today introduced a helpline –
16357 – and formed 29 observation committees to monitor the implementation of
the latest wage structure of garment workers and labour situation in the
country.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian
inaugurated the helpline at a press conference at CIRDAP auditorium here, an
official release said.
Labour and Employment secretary Afroza Khan, Bangladesh Employers
Federation president Kamran T Rahman, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Md Siddiqur Rahman, Bangladesh
Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) vice-chairman
Mansoor Ahmed, Jatiya Sramik League president Shukkur Mahmud and its
executive president Fazlul Haque Mantu, among others, spoke.
“We’ve formed 29 committees involving representatives from the Department
of Inspections for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) and the Department of
Labour to monitor the labour situation round the clock and the wage
implementation in the factories aiming to keep the situation peaceful,” she
said.
The state minister said the committees will monitor the implementation of
the wage structure and settle the issues related to job termination following
the existing laws.
To avert any unwanted situation in the country’s RMG sector, she said,
the committees have been formed in the labour-intensive zones — Dhaka,
Gazipur, Narayanganj, Khulna, Chattogram, Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Habiganj.
Noting that the labour situation in the country is now normal, Monnujan
said: “We are successful in addressing the recent unrest emerged in the
country’s garment sector centering the implementation of the wage structure”.
She said the garment workers have already joined their workplaces as
gazette notification of the coordinated wage structure was published.
The helpline will remain open for 24 hours so that the RMG workers can
make any allegation free of cost. The DIFE will operate the helpline while
its number – 16357 – will be exhibited in all factories.