Hundreds of Uttara EPZ workers stage sit-in
Demand release of 10 held on Sunday
Uttara EPZ workers stage a sit-in in front of deputy commissioner's office at Nilphamari town yesterday demanding release of their ten colleagues arrested on Sunday.Photo: STAR
Several thousand workers of Uttara EPZ (export processing zone) at Shongolshi yesterday abstained from work and came to the district town by walking about 10 kilometers to demonstrate in front of the deputy commissioner's (DC) office. As police obstructed them before the DC office premises, the agitated workers staged a day-long sit-in there demanding release of arrested workers and withdrawal of cases. Earlier on Sunday, Jasimuddin Ahmed, manager of Diaz Spinning and Knitting Limited, a factory in the EPZ, filed a case under Speedy Trial Act accusing 10 workers of ransacking the factory and obstructing others from attending work. Diaz authorities alleged that the unruly workers of another factory ransacked the unit and obstructed their workers. The workers arrested in the case appeared before the chief judicial magistrate court yesterday and prayed for bail. The court rejected prayers of nine of them and sent them to jail. The workers sent to jail are Md Farook Hossain, Selim, Joinal Abedin, Md Nur Alam, Md Montu Mia, Md Jahangir Alam, Md Motiur Rahman, Md Rabiul Islam and Md Mizanur Rahman. Most of the accused are workers of Uttara Sweater Manufacturing Company Limited, the biggest unit at the EPZ. As the news of their sending to jail reached the workers in front of DC office, they became more agitated and demanded immediate release of their fellow workers. Sunday's was the second case filed against the workers by another management in the EPZ since the workers staged their agitation programme on 13 December demanding their wage as per new government pay structure. On 19 December, Evergreen Products Factory Limited filed a case against 11 workers bringing charges of ransacking, creating chaos and flexing muscle. In that case police arrested two and later the court granted bail to all the 11 accused. Following filing of the first case, the EPZ workers submitted a memorandum to the DC of Nilphamari on 19 December demanding release of arrested workers and withdrawal of case against the accused. The DC assured the workers of securing the bail of the arrestees. Yesterday, when the DC again met the workers and requested them to return to their work, the agitating workers remained unmoved. They were continuing the sit-in in front of the DC office till filing of this report at about 4:30 pm. Hafizur Rahman, general manager of Uttara EPZ told this correspondent that the factory fulfilled most of the demands of the workers. But a small section of unruly workers is creating chaos in the EPZ to discourage the foreign investors. The investors have all the right to take legal steps to safeguard their assets, he added.
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