Conspiracy to create unrest behind labour discontent; audio-video evidence against some owners in hand: Home Minister

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmad has said the government has obtained audio and video evidence of the direct involvement of some factory owners behind attempts to create extreme instability in the country through sabotage, road blockades and arson, using ordinary and innocent garment workers as a shield.

He disclosed this at a press briefing held on Monday morning after a meeting with leaders of BGMEA and BKMEA, the top organisations of garment owners, at the Home Ministry's conference room at the Secretariat to resolve the ongoing unrest in the readymade garment sector.

The Home Minister noted that for the past few days, some quarters backed by the ousted autocratic forces have been engaged in a far-reaching conspiracy to destabilise the country by heating up the streets under the cover of labour discontent.

He said genuine production-oriented workers or their trade union leaders never wish for the destruction of their own livelihoods or an anarchic situation.

The Home Minister confirmed that, on the basis of specific evidence such as audio and video, the main instigators behind this conflict and some identified industrialists have already been brought under the law and strict legal action is being taken against them.

Policymakers present at this special meeting to resolve the garment sector crisis included Ariful Haque Chowdhury, minister for labour and employment and for expatriates' welfare and overseas employment; Mahdi Amin, the Prime Minister's adviser on the ministry concerned; labour leader and MP Shimul Biswas; Cabinet Secretary Nasimul Gani; Public Administration Ministry senior secretary Md Kamruzzaman Chowdhury; Home Ministry senior secretary Manzur Morshed Chowdhury; and Labour and Employment Ministry secretary Md Abdur Rahman Tarafdar.

BGMEA president Mahmud Hasan Khan, BKMEA president Mohammad Hatem and executive president Fazle Shamim Ehsan, along with top officials of the police and various national intelligence agencies, also took part in the meeting.

Expressing the resolve to ensure the industry's security and productivity, the Home Minister said the administration is taking effective steps so that no factory in the country remains closed for even a moment and not a single worker is harmed by losing their job.

He said that, in continuation of the discussions with the owners' side, a separate coordinated meeting with the top representatives of all labour organisations will be held on Monday afternoon itself, and the next final decision will be taken on the basis of realistic opinions from both sides.