Proactive and productive role of trade unions underscored

Garment workers should also press for the implementation of recent tripartite agreements with the government and factory owners in regard to their rights, they said.

The government and the civil society became aware of the condition of the workers following their movement over the last few weeks, they said at the roundtable organised by Bangladesh National Council of Textile Garments and Leather Workers at the National Press Club in the city.

Over the years, the government as well as the garment owners have remained indifferent to the exploitation of workers in this sector, said Vice-President of the Council Shajahan Khan MP.

"But the spontaneous movement of the workers forced them to review their attitude toward the workers in the industry," he added.

If two square meals a day are not ensured in exchange of daylong labour, why the workers would bear the responsibility of ensuring security of the factories, he asked.

Dr Wajedul Islam Khan, general secretary of Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad, said workers naturally want to avoid destructive movement in their workplaces for the sake of their livelihood.

He also said the real problem cannot be solved by propagating conspiracy theory.

Council President Mamunur Rashid Chowdhury, General Secretary Roy Romesh Chandra, General Secretary of Jatiya Sramik Karmachari Federation Shafiuddin Ahmed, General Secretary of Jatiya Karmachari Jote Kader Hawlader, Kamrul Anam, Badruddoza Nizam and Dilruba Chowdhury also spoke.