Independent inquiry needed into workers’ deaths

Rights organisation Ain O Salish Kendra on April 22 filed a writ petition with the High Court seeking its directive on the authorities concerned to conduct a judicial inquiry into the killings of workers at SS Power I Plant at Chattogram's Banshkhali upazila on April 17. We cannot stress how important it is to have such an independent inquiry and we fully support the petition.

On that fateful day, five workers at the under-construction plant were killed and at least 21 injured when police fired live ammunition at the workers, while they were demonstrating to get paid their arrears and some time off for Iftar and Sehri. According to reports, the workers had started their protest peacefully. So why was there a need for the police to fire live bullets? Weren't there multiple other available options for the police that they could have exercised before resorting to such drastic measures? Did they try those? Were all the necessary attempts made by the police to ensure that there was no loss of life? These are questions that must be answered, particularly given our track record when it comes to people being killed at the hands of law enforcers, and also the record of investigating even the most dubious of those cases. The authorities have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the past, many times without any investigation—and no independent investigation almost ever sees the light of day. But in order to have justice, there has to be an independent inquiry.

As a report in this newspaper revealed, the workers are having to live in absolutely horrid conditions. How is that being tolerated in regards to the labour laws? Oftentimes, we have seen construction labour being outsourced. Under what law do these workers actually work? Is there any supervision going on? These issues have to be looked into. And there is also the matter of compensation for the dead and injured workers and their families.

For far too long have we seen labour laws being flouted in the country against the most vulnerable workers. And whenever they demand what little is due to them, their demands are crushed with force. There needs to be an independent inquiry to check whether the use of force was justified on this instance, whether the workers' rights were honoured by the law enforcers and the company/companies employing them, and if their terms of employment were fair and being adhered to. We strongly feel that for justice to be done, there has to be an independent inquiry.