Almost all the cases filed against workers leaders and workers in eight years during the Awami League regime have been withdrawn. As a result, a total of 47,728 accused in these cases, including unidentified people, have been exempted from the case. However, the case filed with the Konabari police station in Gazipur over the killing of a worker has not been withdrawn. Ministry of Labour and Employment sources confirmed this.
They said a total of 45 cases were filed with six police stations in Dhaka and Gazipur against workers leaders and workers. The highest 15 cases were filed with the Ashulia police station in Dhaka.
Besides, 14 cases were filed with the Kaliakair police station, 10 with the Konabari police station, 2 with Joydebpur police station, 2 with Bason police station and 2 with Tongi West police station. These cases were withdrawn last month.
The two cases filed with the Tongi West police station were lodged on 6 August 2021. One of the two cases was filed with the Joydebpur police station on 5 January in 2015 and another on 10 January.
Apart from these four cases, the remaining 41 were filed in 2023. According to official documents these cases were politically motivated. However, worker leaders say not all cases are political, as many were also filed for waging movements to realise their rights.
Of the 11 cases, the plaintiffs are police from different stations. In the rest, the plaintiffs are security officers, human resources officials, executive officers, administrative officers, legal advisers, and drivers on behalf of the owners of different factories or companies. Most of the cases were filed on charges of unlawful assembly, rioting, and assault. Essentially, the cases stemmed from movements over wages and allowances in garment factories.
Recently retired labour secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman told Prothom Alo, “We were determined to withdraw the cases, and we even conveyed this at the ILO headquarters in Geneva. And now that the reciprocal duty imposed by the United States has come down to 20 per cent for Bangladesh, I would say that, alongside other reasons, the decision to withdraw the cases against the workers has also played a role.”
How the cases have been withdrawn
Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation (BIGUF) appealed to the labour and employment ministry on 8 September 2024 to withdraw the cases filed against workers leaders and workers. The organisation, which works on various issues of workers such as wages, working conditions and other legal matters, is a member of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC).
Not all cases are political. Some were filed against us for waging movements to claim our rights. The current government’s initiative to withdraw these cases is truly commendable. It would have been difficult under a political government.Babul Akter, President, Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers’ Federation
Based on this application, on 28 November of the same year, the Ministry of Labour and Employment sent a letter to the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs recommending the withdrawal of the cases. However, the Public Security Division did not take much action in this regard.
Afterwards, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Ministry of Labour and Employment and leaders of workers’ organisations held a meeting with Lutfe Siddique, the chief adviser’s special envoy for international affairs.
In the meeting, Lutfe Siddique emphasised the withdrawal of cases filed at different times against workers, federation leaders and organisers on political grounds. According to sources in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the matter gained momentum after that.
Following the fall of Sheikh Hasina Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Union Federation (BIGUF) appealed to the labour and employment ministry on 8 September 2024 to withdraw the cases filed against workers leaders and workers.
According to ministry sources, after they requested the home ministry, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the home ministry and the law ministry held a joint meeting. In the meeting, it was decided to withdraw the cases.
Rashedul Alam, general secretary of the BIGUF, told Prothom Alo, “It can be said that all the cases have been withdrawn. We have collected certified copies of some of the withdrawals. For the rest, we will file applications in court this week.”
7,000 accused in a single case
Babul Akter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers’ Federation, was made the number one accused in a case filed on 6 August 2021 by then sub-inspector (SI) AS Jamal Uddin Chowdhury of Tongi West police station in Gazipur. The case also named 24 other accused, while another 200 were unnamed. The case was withdrawn on 17 August.
In different police stations of Gazipur, cases were filed against 1,500 unnamed workers on 25 June 2021, 3,000 on 26 October, 4,000 on 27 October, 250 on 29 October, 1,150 in two cases on 30 October, 4,000 on 2 November, and 4,000 in one case and 7,000 in another on 9 November. The case against 7,000 accused was filed by then sub-inspector (SI) Sani Hasan Khan of Konabari Police Station, who is now posted in Cox’s Bazar.
According to information from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the case at Konabari Police Station is still ongoing against nine workers and 800 unnamed accused due to allegations of murder.
Asked why so many were made accused, Sani Hasan Khan told Prothom Alo over the phone on 1 September that he could not recall such an old incident. When reminded, he said, “The case was filed on the orders of the bosses. Ask them.”
The Ministry of Labour and Employment has confirmed that, apart from the cases filed by the police, cases filed on behalf of the owners of 28 factories have also been withdrawn. Some of the owners were initially unwilling to withdraw the cases, but the government persuaded them to do so.
Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the BGMEA, told Prothom Alo, “Owners file cases only when a criminal offence occurs. No owner files a case for violating labour law. Even so, at the government’s request and to protect the country’s image, the owners have withdrawn the cases. Everyone must try to ensure that no criminal offences occur in the future. We hope the industrial environment will be sincere, so that cases do not arise.”
According to information from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the case at Konabari Police Station is still ongoing against nine workers and 800 unnamed accused over allegations of murder. The case was filed on 31 October 2023 by Gulzar Hossain, acting security officer of ABM Fashion, a factory of Ananta Group. The previous evening, during a movement demanding increased wages and allowances, a young electrician was killed by police gunfire.
Babul Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers’ Federation and accused in two cases, said, “Not all cases are political. Some were filed against us for waging movements to claim our rights. The current government’s initiative to withdraw these cases is truly commendable. It would have been difficult under a political government.”