Jute seed workers besiege office demanding pay rise
Workers of Jute Seed Production Centre at Nashipur in Dinajpur Sadar upazila demonstrate in front of the joint director's office yesterday demanding payment of last two months' arrear dues, pay rise and job regularisation. Photo: STAR
At least 1,200 workers of Jute Seed Production Centre at Nashipur in Dinajpur Sadar upazila yesterday besieged the office of the joint director to press for their nine-point demand including job regularisation. The other demands are regular payment of daily wages, overtime allowance, wage hike, job security, payment of arrears, disbursement of wages from cash section of the centre, year-round job for women workers and accident allowance. Before laying siege to the office of the joint director at the seed production centre under Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC), the workers gathered there. They then took out a procession and paraded the area. Addressing a rally in front of the centre, the workers urged the authorities concerned to increase their daily wages to Tk 200 from Tk 180 and pay the arrears for the months of January and February by March 3. The also threatened indefinite strike if their demands were not met by the deadline. Md Abdul Jabbar, President of Nashipur Jute Seed Production Centre workers' Union, presided over the rally. Earlier on February 29, the workers submitted a memorandum to he chief of centre. They also submitted a copy of the memo to the deputy commissioner of Dinajpur. Contacted, Joint Director Md Abdur Rashid Khan said they could not clear the workers' arrears due to fund shortage. “We will get a fund by Sunday and start payment of arrears as early as possible,” he added.
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