ZCZC
BSS-52
JUTE-MILLS-PRODUCTION-CLOSURE 2-LAST
The principal secretary said payment of dues of the workers would be given under the national wage structure of 2015 as the government had doubled their salaries in accordance with it.
He said the government would pay all the dues up to taka two lakhs to the workers while in case of dues of above Taka two lakh, the government would give 50 percent of it in cash and the remaining 50 percent in saving certificates.
Textiles and Jute Secretary Lokman Hossain Miah told the news briefing that currently there are 26 jute mills under the BJMC, but the decision regarding one mills –Monowar Jute Mills—has not yet been taken due to litigation.
Mentioning that the Prime Minister is always against shutdown of any mills and factory as she had reopened many closed mills and factories during her tenures, Dr Kaikaus said, “The prime minister has become emotional while giving consent to the decision. But the reality is that the 25 jute mills couldn’t be run properly and incurred losses years after years and the livelihoods of workers of the mills have been hampered.”
He said the premier is always sincere about boosting the production of jute and jute goods as their demand in the international market are on rise. The prime minister took initiatives to finance research on genome sequencing of jute and promote their multipurpose uses, he added.
Expressing dissatisfaction over the BJMC’s performance, he said that it failed to properly run the jute mills and incurred losses in 44 years out of 48 after FY 1972-73.
“The cumulative losses of the BJMC stood at Tk 10,674 crores in 2018-19 fiscal year (since 1972),” he continued.
The principal secretary said that the 25 jute mills will be reopened by being equipped with modern technologies under various ventures such as PPP (public private partnership), G2G, joint venture and leasing model.
In this regard, he said that the prime minister has directed them to come up with a proposal on how the production of jute mills can be revived and make them capable enough to cope with the race of competition in the local and international markets.
Among others, PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah and high officials of the Textiles and Jute Ministry were present on the occasion.
BSS/AHJ/KU/2118 hrs