Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hossain has said that steps have been taken to issue red alerts through Interpol to bring back factory owners who fled abroad without paying workers’ wages.
He made the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a debate competition on Saturday at the FDC in Dhaka, reports Daily Sun.
The adviser said, “A large number of students, workers and working-class people took part in the July uprising, and many lost their lives. Behind the incident was their long-standing frustration and resentment.”
He mentioned that several ministers and MPs of the fallen government have either fled abroad or gone into hiding without paying workers. “I have recommended issuing red alerts via Interpol to bring back those who escaped without paying wages. Measures are being taken to sell their houses, cars and lands to pay the dues of the workers,” he said.
The adviser further said, “Owners still do not have the mindset of ‘I will take care of my worker.’ We are always on the side of workers, but it is also our duty to look after the owners. We don’t want to see a divide between workers and owners.”
Sakhawat said the failure in the industrial sector stems from past misgovernance. “The person who owns the factory was also a political leader, an MP—this is how ruling and exploitation were carried out in the past.”
He also alleged that the Rana Plaza disaster occurred due to the government's negligence and termed the rescue of a female worker named Reshma 17 days after the collapse as a staged drama.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
