‘Settle disputes through healthy, participatory management approach’

Sramik Nirapotta Forum, a network of 17 organisations working to promote and protect the safety of workers and defend their rights, has called for setting up a system to settle disputes between garments workers and employers through a healthy and participatory management approach.

It also called on the law enforcement agencies not to use excessive force on workers to quash demonstrations. Using force will only stimulate unrest amongst workers, the forum said in a statement yesterday.

The statement said the police shot and killed a worker and injured 30 to 50 others when they were demonstrating outside Fortuna Garments in Gazipur last week. Such police excess has smeared the government move to address the problems of the workers in the garment sector, it added.

It also said garments workers are being compelled to demonstrate for the payment of wage arrears as a number of factories have not complied with the agreement regarding the wage signed last September.

"The government proposes to set up a crisis management committee to settle the current disputes between employers and garment workers. This requires the representation of all sides to the dispute, and cannot be imposed at the will of the BGMEA or BKMEA alone," the forum said and urges the government to make their initiative meaningful by including workers' representatives in the crisis management committee.