Jessore Jute Industries awaits the final whistle
The state-owned Jessore Jute Industries (JJI) is also on verge of closure as authorities have started issuing termination notices.
According to JJI CBA leader Md Golam Kibria, 1100 casual workers have so far been retrenched on different pretexts.
Besides, 233 permanent workers, 30 employees and three officials of the country's second biggest jute mills have already gone on voluntary retirement apprehending its closure any time.
But they are yet to get their arrear wages and salaries.
General secretary of JJI Workers Union Mahumd Hossain told this correspondent that retrenched casual workers demonstrated inside the mill yesterday in protest against retrenchment.
He termed the retrenchment violation of labour law. Workers can not be sacked without payment of arrear wages, he said.
Project Director of JJI Abdur Razzak said the retrenchment is part of a reform measure. The mill is not in a position to run with such heavy burden of losses and liabilities, he said.
Razzak said the mill was yet to pay Tk 54.78 crore loans, Tk 4.21 crore outstanding bills for raw jute supply, Tk 3.25 crore arrear wages for 19 weeks, Tk 16.96 crore against gratuity of workers and employees, Tk 24.68 crore against provident fund and Tk 9.94 crore 94 taken as subsidy from Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC).
The project director further said that there are only 10,000 maunds of raw jute in stock to run the mills only for ten days.
“I am yet to get any hint from the government about allocation of fund to buy raw materials”, he said.
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