Sugar mill workers besiege DC's office in Rangpur
Staff of Rangpur Sugar Mills Limited here yesterday besieged the Deputy Commissioner's office and submitted a memo calling to accept their 8-point demand.
As part of countrywide agitation by Bangladesh Chinikal Sramik-Karmachri Federation, Rangpur Sugar Mills Workers-Employees Union in the district held the agitation programme.
At a rally held on the DC office premises, the speakers demanded implementation of wage commission 2009 and fix retirement age at 60. They also urged the government to place all sugar mills under revenue head.
The union leaders also called for implementation of gratuity, pension and LPR facilities. The labourers should also be brought under pay commission, the speakers said.
They also called to enhance price of sugarcane, so that growers become interested to supply canes to respective sugar mills.
Due to recurring losses Rangpur Sugar Mills was laid off during the regime of BNP coalition government and 874 workers and employees put under pay off on March 31, 2004.
The speakers alleged that the mill authority recruited 200 fresh workers 'on no work no pay' basis ignoring reinstatement of employees.
The mills reopened in 2009 following non-stop agitation by the workers, employees and farmers and traders of mill zone areas.
But 150 workers are yet to get back their jobs, said Abdul Matin, president of the union.
The speakers further said that this year the mill authority fixed cane price at Tk. 66 per mound, whereas in remote village areas owners of power crushers are already paying the price at Tk 120 per mound.
The authority must take the market price in consideration to run the mills efficiently, they said.
The speakers at the rally were Abdul Matin, president or Rangpur Sugar Mills Workers-Employees Union, Tofazzal Hossain, secretary and Jobayedur Rahman, Zillur Rahman, S M Jalaluddin, Saidur Rahman and Rafiqul Islam.
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