The Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Pat Shramik Dal, the BNP-affiliated Labour Party, has issued an eight-point demand, including the immediate reopening of state-owned jute mills, warning of nationwide protests starting July 18 if their demands are not met.
The announcement came at a press conference held Wednesday at the Zahur Hossain Chowdhury Hall of the National Press Club in Dhaka.
Speaking at the event, the organisation’s president, Saeed Al Noman, said the previous government had shut down 25 jute mills under the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC). “We had hoped the current interim government would revive these mills, but that has not happened,” he said.
The demands include restarting production in the closed mills under state management, scrapping the lease system, and settling all outstanding wages owed to jute workers.
Noman also criticised what he described as the continuation of the former administration’s policies under the current government. “Due to poor policy decisions, the world’s best quality jute is being smuggled to neighbouring India, where it is used to produce high-end export goods, while Bangladesh is losing out on potential foreign currency earnings,” he said.
He further noted that jute-based alternatives to plastic could play a key role in environmental protection and align with the interim government’s stated goal of reaching “zero” in three critical environmental sectors.
Advocate Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, chief coordinator of Jatiyatabadi Pat Shramik Dal’s executive committee, added that BNP has historically stood with jute workers and will continue to advocate for their rights.
Others present at the press conference included Anwar Hossain, president of the BNP-affiliated Labour Party’s central executive committee, and Abul Khayer Khaja, general secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Pat Shramik Dal, among other party leaders.