Some 85 workers of Asian Paints’ factory in Chattogram’s Mirsharai observed a strike for the second day today (7 October), demanding job permanence.
The workers staged a demonstration this morning in front of the factory located in the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar area, chanting slogans such as “Tumi ke ami ke? Shramik, Shramik” (Who are you, Who am I? Workers, Workers”), “Ek dofa ek dabi, mante hobe mante hobe” (One point one demand, accept it, accept it).
Md Iqbal Hossain, one of the workers, told The Business Standard, “We were recruited through interviews before the factory started operations. The authorities promised to make our job permanent on the basis of performance but did not keep that promise.
“One year after the factory’s opening, unskilled workers were hired and their jobs were made permanent. But even after three years of joining, our jobs were not made permanent. Moreover, locals of Mirsrai are being laid off without any notice.”
A senior official of Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority’s Shilpa Nagar office, on condition of anonymity, told The Business Standard that senior officials from Asian Paints’ Dhaka office came to discuss the issues with the protesting workers today.
Officials from Asian Paints’ Mirsharai factory did not respond to a request for comment over the matter.
