Even as orders start coming in, retrenchment of workers continues!

Even though the Government warned as early as mid-April that factories would not receive facilities from the financial package of Taka 5,000 crore that the Government rnannounced in the last week of March mostly for the payment of workers’ wages if they go for layoffs, many factories have allegedly continued mass layoffs, so much so that according to different estimates, over one lakh workers from the capital and other industrial areas have taken recourse to reverse migration and have ended up in rural areas, wherefrom they migrated earlier following economic, environmental and climate-related challenges. It may be mentioned here that earlier in March, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina announced Taka 5,000-crore coronavirus bailout package to help pay the workers’ wages (for April, May and June), but eventually the total amount disbursed in this direction stood at Taka 7,500 crore. Meanwhile, Salman F Rahman, a private industry and investment affairs adviser to the Prime Minister, has hinted that the Government was mulling to make available further allocation for the apparel sector to pay wages to workers from the stimulus package of Taka 30,000 crore, announced to enhance the working capital of the industry. For more, click @ Apparel Resources