Bangladesh: BGMEA demands action against trade union for US letter with ‘false’ info

Dhaka, June 24 (New Age): The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association on Monday demanded action against some trade union leaders accusing them of acting against country’s readymade garment industry by sending letters to the US congressmen with false information about labour standard. BGMEA president Md Atiqul Islam alleged that a trade union federation, the National Garment Workers Federation, recently wrote a letter to the US congressmen mentioning that workers have been repressed in the work place in Bangladesh’s RMG factories. Atiqul made the allegation against the federation affiliated with the IndustriALL Bangladesh at a programme in presence of commerce minister Tofail Ahmed. Tofail on Sunday labelled same accusation against IndustriALL but the leaders of the Bangladesh chapter of the global trade union federation denied the charges. Amirul Haque Amin, president of the National Garment Workers Federation, however, told New Age that they had not sent such letter to the US administration directly but they had submitted a report on torture on a worker leader to the labour and home ministries of Bangladesh, BGMEA, Inspector General of Police, director general of industrial police and superintendent of police of the Mymensingh district. He said that tortured worker leader Moniruzzaman, whose name was mentioned in the letter, was still staying in the capital with serious injuries. Atiqul at the programme on BGMEA-BUFT Journalism Fellowship 2014 said, ‘I urge the commerce minister to take necessary actions against them who have taken stand against the largest foreign currency earning sector of the country and against four million people who are employed in the sector.’ Handing over the copy of the letter to the commerce minister, the BGMEA president said that those who were acting against the country in the name of trade unions should be punished. As the president and the secretary of IndustriALL Bangladesh council, Nazrul Islam Khan and Roy Ramesh Chandra, could not avoid the responsibility of such kind of letter that has been sent to the US administration with false information about labour situation, said Atiqul. Nazrul is a senor BNP leader while Ramesh is an Awami League leader. Amirul, however, told New Age, ‘The allegation on torture on labour leader Monir was not false and we have documents. We submitted those in several ministries and government agencies.’ ‘If anyone wants to talk to the assaulted worker, Monir, to prove the issue, he/she can contact the NGWF,’ Amirul said. Tofail Ahmed said that some trade union leaders, who were not involved with work in any establishment, were giving negative message about the labour standards in Bangladesh across the world. Tofail, however, slightly backtracked from his remarks made on Sunday that Nazrul Islam and Roy Ramesh sent the letter to US congressmen. ‘I don’t have any grudge against Nazrul as he is a nice person. But the letter was sent by the NGWF to the US using the official pad of IndustriALL and Nazrul is the president of the IndustriALL Bangladesh,’ he said. The minister urged the trade union leaders to uphold the interest of country and said that despite ideological difference no one can take stand against the dignity of the nation. Dhaka University vice-chancellor AASM Arefin Siddique, Continued on Boishakhi Television chief executive officer Manjurul Ahsan Bulbul, the Bhorer Kagoj editor Shyamal Dutta and the Financial Express advisory editor Jaglul Ahmed Chowdhury attended the programme. In the programme, the BGMEA announced the names of six journalists who have been elected for the BGMEA-BUFT Journalism Fellowship 2014 in different categories.