FE Report

The country's apex body of apparel manufacturers Saturday said no one died in the labour unrest in a garment factory at Tongi and termed it sabotage by vested quarters.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Abdus Salam Murshedy said this at a hurriedly called press conference in connection with the labour unrest at Nippon Garment Industries Ltd at Tongi in Gazipur.

BGMEA had formed a five-member probe committee headed by one of its vice presidents Faruque Hasan.

The committee was asked to submit its findings within 72 hours.

On Saturday the incident snowballed and continued until 2:00 pm after the rumour of the death of two garment workers spread in the morning.

Mr Murshedy said: "We spoke to senior police officials regarding the reported deaths and they assured us that there was none."

"This is sabotage to destablise the industry before two mega expositions in the city this week," he added.

The BGMEA and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) will organise two annual expositions to showcase their products.

The BGMEA leaders said the incident left at least 13 people injured, including one woman constable, Neera Islam now undergoing treatment at Rajarbagh Police Hospital.

They said five injured were released from the hospital after first aid.

"We've identified one injured garment worker Aleya, who has been working for over a decade in the factory," said Tipu Munshi, a former BGMEA president and a lawmaker.

"The injury sustained by a single garment worker also proves that the genuine labourers were not involved in the agitation," he added.

"We find uncanny similarity between Saturday's incident and the previous ones fuelled by the vested groups," said Isharafil Alam, a lawmaker present at the meeting.

Sources said although the factory management notified the workers on October 30 that the unit would remain closed from October 31 to November 29, the unrest took place on the first day of the closure.

BGMEA leaders claimed that Nippon Garment management held prior consultations with the factory workers on the issue of shutting down the factory due to poor export orders and requested the employees to collect wages on November 10.

BGMEA sources said the other injured persons were rickshawpullers, grocers and passers-by.

Ishrafil Alam, MP, urged the government to investigate and take action against the culprits.