The government has formed 29 committees mainly to monitor implementation of the latest wage structure and labour situation in the country's different labour-intensive industrial hubs, officials said.
They said the committees or teams, each having two members, have also been instructed to make necessary arrangements for mass publicity of the recently launched emergency hotline number in the factories.
The teams have been assigned to settle the issues related to termination or firing from jobs in line with the labour laws, ministry officials said.
The committees, comprised of representatives from Department of Inspections for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) and Department of Labour (DoL), will work in the industrial hubs of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj, Khulna, Chattogram, Sylhet, Moulvibazar and Habiganj, they said.
The labour ministry has scheduled a briefing in this regard in the city tomorrow (Thursday).
"The main purpose of forming the teams is to monitor the labour situation and wage implementation in the labour-intensive zones to avert any untoward situation like the recent labour unrest that took place in different apparel hubs," DIFE inspector general Shamsuzzaman Bhuiyan told the FE on Tuesday.
He said the teams will also assist settling the workers' grievances related to their lawful rights including leave, termination and maternity benefits.
The DIFE launched a 12-digit helpline services in 2016 that has been changed to the number 16357 so that the workers can take up any of their grievances with the authorities concerned, he said, adding that the workers' concerns to be raised through the hotline would also be addressed immediately.
The move came after the garment workers in Ashulia, Gazipur, Tongi, Savar and Narayanganj industrial hubs took to the streets and staged demonstration from December 09 last year to January 13 this year, protesting wage disparity among different grades announced in November last, sources said.
Against the backdrop of the recent RMG unrest, the government revised the wage structure for garment workers through a gazette notification issued on January 24, they added.
According to Industrial Police sources, at least 4,899 garment workers have been fired from their jobs in the aftermath of the recent labour unrest while labour leaders claimed that the figure would be more than 7,000.
The labour leaders, however, alleged that the workers were still being victimised for joining the agitation as the apparel makers have filed cases against 'unidentified' accused, resorted to 'mass' dismissal of workers and put many in the process of dismissal.
The Centre for Policy Dialogue has identified reasons for the labour unrest that included problems in the new wage structure, weaknesses in monitoring and enforcement of new minimum wages and workers' organisations, non-compliance of entrepreneurs in implementation process and victimising the workers in course of the implementation.
