Editorial
AJM Workers' Ugly Mood
AGITATION among workers of Adamjee Jute Mills over non-payment of salaries and allowances before Eid went berserk on Tuesday. They damaged about 25 buses and caused injuries to 25 passengers on the Dhaka-Chittagong-Sylhet highway. Although, at a meeting of the Jute Ministry officials, BJMC representatives and Adamjee's CBA leaders, the decision to make part payment was announced, the workers, by that time, had gone beyond control. They stopped work at the jute mill and barricaded the highway causing severe harm to ordinary people who in no way had anything to do with the problem.
The Adamjee Jute Mills authorities should have been able to foresee such a grievance. The story happens to be the same every year the BJMC and the Jute Ministry not intervening at the right time to head off a serious crisis.
Eid is the most important festival for people. At this time workers everywhere would expect their salaries and allowances to be paid. But if the grumblings in an industry were to lead to a highway obstruction, obviously then the commutation rights of thousands of people would be impinged upon. That too in the Eid season. Non-payment of bills would automatically cause workers to become depraved. Talks between authorities and workers never resolved anything in the long term. A long-term solution is required.
We are troubled and angered to see the same problem arise every year. We demand some action from the government to, avert any further recurrence of the same at the AJM.
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