Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - Owners of more than one hundred garment manufacturers on Saturday threatened to shut down their factories if the government fails to ensure security at the country's key industrial area Gazipur by September 25.
The manufacturers made the threat in a written memorandum after a series of protests in the past few weeks left at least 70 plants vandalized, hundreds of people injured and dozens of vehicles damaged.
"We cannot continue production in this climate of fear and mindless violence," said Rashid Ahmed Hossaini, Managing Director of Nexus Sweater Limited was quoted by the Financial Express, the country’s lone financial daily, as saying.
"Everyday, factories are being ransacked and vandalized in a pre-planned way. Some people are spreading rumours of ghost attack and death of workers, inciting attacks by workers," he added.
The manufacturers said in the last 15 days alone they incurred a loss of around Tk 8.00 billion due to the violence over "ghost attacks" and "rumoured death of garment workers".
The manufacturers vented their anger days after the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) released findings by its crisis cell that this year at least 151 garment factories have been vandalized in the country.
Of the total, 109 factories have been attacked by workers protesting the rumoured deaths of their fellow colleagues while the rest were due to protests low wages, according to the reports.
BBN/SI/SI/AD-07September08-2:11 AM