565 garment workers laid off simultaneously during the holiday in Ashulia — where will their helpless families go?

❐ Staff correspondent

A garment factory in Ashulia, Savar, has laid off 565 workers in one go, citing a severe disruption in production due to a business slowdown, shortage of sufficient work orders, lack of banking support, and a gas crisis.

The matter was announced in a notice issued by the Human Resources and Administration Department of Alliance Knit Composite Limited, an export-oriented company in the Pukurpar area of ​​Ashulia, on Friday morning, August 8.

Notably, this layoff has been effective since Saturday.

The factory’s notice stated that the company has faced a business downturn due to various global and internal factors. It also stated that production activities are being severely hampered due to the lack of necessary banking and financial support and the reduction in the volume of work.

In such a situation, the authorities have decided to reduce the additional manpower in the interest of preserving the existence of the organization and maintaining business continuity.

According to the notice, 565 workers have been laid off in accordance with Section 20 of the Bangladesh Labor Act 2006 and legal dues and compensation will be paid considering their service period.

In addition, citing Section 21 of the Labor Act, it is stated that if the scope of work in the factory increases within the next one year or if there is a need to hire new workers, the laid-off workers will be given priority for rehiring.

In this regard, an operator of the factory’s swing branch said that he received a layoff notice on his mobile phone while he was at his home in Dinajpur on a three-day vacation. He said that it was not clear to him why he was cut off. He is now worried about the incident.

The situation is similar for other workers. No one knows where helpless families dependent on a single income will go or how they will survive in this dire time.

According to the factory’s managing director, Jaim Ahmed, they have had to lay off workers because there are currently not enough orders and work in the company. However, he added that workers will be hired again if work orders come in the future.

However, Rafiqul Islam Sujan, president of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation, did not take this layoff well.

According to him, the decision to lay off so many workers at once during the holidays under the pretext of a business downturn is inhumane. He demanded the withdrawal of the layoff notice, reinstatement of the workers, and payment of outstanding salaries and other dues.

Mominul Islam, director of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, also confirmed the layoffs.

According to him, they have learned that the factory has laid off some workers due to a lack of sufficient work orders and a business downturn caused by the gas crisis. However, he added that he does not yet have detailed information on this matter.