Pay arrear salaries now, if govt can't pay all dues
Distressed Khulna jute workers demand
Emran Hossain, from Khulna
Around 5,000 laid-off workers of four state-owned jute mills in Khalishpur, Khulna, which have been shut down recently, demand that if the government is unable to pay all their dues, it should pay them their arrear salaries now as they are in financial difficulty.They said the government could pay the other arrears later if it cannot afford to pay them now and all at once. The joint forces are monitoring the situation in the state-owned jute industries including the closed Peoples Jute Mills Ltd (PJML) in Khalishpur, sources said. "We have not had our salaries for the last six to eight months and we need money just to survive. We cannot suffer anymore, our families need food and medical treatment," said Mamun, a former PJML worker to whom the factory owes Tk 2.5 lakh. The laid off workers, on an average, have unpaid salaries of 11-28 weeks. As the workers were not getting their salaries, most of them are in debt, from Tk 1000 to Tk 20,000, to different shops, individuals, banks, landlords and NGOs. "We cannot even leave for home or for other places as we do not have money," said Jashim, a laid off worker of Crescent Jute Mills Ltd (CJML), to whom the mill owes Tk 3.5 lakh. Meanwhile, the joint forces as part of their routine programme visited the PJML yesterday and inquired the employees about their condition. Two joint forces patrol teams reached the mill around 8:30am and talked to security guards and former employees. A source in the joint forces said three other state-owned jute mills closed in April and partially resumed operations in June. The source requesting anonymity said they provided the mill authorities with a "new formula" by which they can partially operate using their own money since the government has stopped giving funds to it. They are operating by hiring workers on daily basis, the source added. "The PJML was plagued with so many problems that we could do nothing," said the source. CJML and Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills Ltd (PJJML) are now operating using this "new formula". "I have sent my son to Dhaka to see if there were any jobs there," said former CJML worker Mohsin Talukder. His son Hemayet Hossain was a student of class IX in Rotary High School. Hemayet dropped out of school since he could not pay school fees in the last three months. "I advised him to get a job anywhere in Dhaka. I hope he gets a job soon as I have heard there is no scarcity of jobs in the capital," said Mohsin, who has never been in the capital. The PJJML, CJML and Star Jute Mills Ltd (SJML) closed on April 19 and laid off around 2,000 workers while the PJML alone laid off 3,000 workers. The government shut down Daulatpur Jute Mills Ltd in Khalishpur on December 7, 2002.
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