Garment owner sells cows to pay workers occupying factory in Gazipur

Cattle belonging to a Gazipur garment factory owner have been sold off to partially pay the wages and Eid bonuses of protesting workers, bdnews24.com reports.

Workers at the Jim and Jessi Composite factory in the town’s Bhogra area received their dues on Sunday evening, said Wasiuzzaman Chowdhury, a senior assistant commissioner at the Gazipur district administration.

The protesters have occupied the factory since Saturday afternoon to demand their wages for April and their Eid bonuses. They spent the night at the factory on Saturday, with only water and biscuits for iftar and sehri.

Under the circumstances, the district administration contacted the factory owner several times, Wasiuzzaman said. Afterwards, the BKMEA “approved a loan of Tk 1 million to the owner to pay the workers’ bonuses”.

The owner also provided Tk 489,000 of his own funds and raised an additional Tk 750,000 by selling nine cows he kept in a barn by the factory.

Each of the 544 workers at the factory received Tk 4,000 each, while three contractors received Tk 60,000 each.

An amount of Tk 7,000 was also set aside with the factory’s accounts office for a worker who was not present at the time, Wasiuzzaman said.

The protesting workers set off for their Eid trips home after receiving their bonuses.