After remaining closed for a week, Pacific Group – one of the country’s leading export-oriented industrial conglomerates – is set to reopen its 8 garment factories located in the Chattogram Export Processing Zone (CEPZ). Production activities will resume on Thursday.
The decision was announced in separate notices signed by Syed Mohammad Tanvir, managing director of Pacific Group, on Tuesday night.
According to the notice, operations at the factories had been suspended indefinitely from 16 October due to an unfortunate incident. However, as the overall situation has improved and a suitable working environment has been restored, the group has decided to resume production from 23 October.
All officers, staff, and workers have been instructed to report to their respective departments on time and maintain discipline and professionalism in the workplace.
The factories set to reopen include Pacific Jeans-1, Pacific Jeans-2, Pacific Attires, Pacific Accessories, Pacific Workwears, Universal Jeans, NHT Fashions, and Jeans 2000.
Earlier, the situation became tense after workers initiated a work stoppage on 14 October. During protests on 16 October, incidents of clashes, vandalism, and alleged attacks on officials were reported. The following night, the factories were declared closed indefinitely under section 12(1) of the Bangladesh EPZ Labour Act 2019.
Suhrid Chowdhury, chief operating officer of Pacific Group, said, “Some unexpected incidents occurred during the agitation. But now all misunderstandings have been resolved through discussions with the workers, and the working environment has been restored. That’s why we have decided to reopen the factories.”
Pacific Group is one of the largest export-oriented conglomerates in the CEPZ, employing several thousand workers. Many of them expressed relief and optimism upon hearing the news of the reopening.
