Small trades that grew on the daily needs of mill workers in the Khalishpur industrial belt in Khulna faced a sudden slump after the authorities laid off four state-owned jute mills on Thursday.
Many grocers’ and shops of clothes and cosmetics, going through a hard time after the payment of workers at the mills had become irregular for months, have been closed, said Md Idris Ali, who worked with the Star Jute Mills. ‘It has become difficult for us to sell tea and biscuits worth even Tk 50 a day now,’ said Sekendar Ali, 75, a freedom fighter who runs a tea-stall at the People’s Jute Mills.
‘The mill workers have not got paid for months and four of the mills have been laid off,’ said Sekender, who worked as a machine man with the Platinum Jute Mills and started his business of tea stall 20 years ago as he retired.
‘A cup of tea cost only Tk 0.50 when I started my shop and I could earn about Tk 100 a day,’ he said. ‘The price increased to Tk 1.5 a cup and I could earn even Tk 400 a day. Now the price has increased further to Tk 2 a cup, but it has become tough for me to sell tea cups worth even Tk 50 a day.’
Several hundred grocers in the area now find it hard to earn their living as they would mainly cater to the needs of the mill workers.
Most of them said they sold commodities to the workers on credit and many of them are running short of capital. Now they are unable to get their money back.
They said a large number of mill workers had already left the areas. Most such grocers have stopped selling goods to workers on credit fearing they would not get their money back, adding only to the sufferings of the mill workers.
A grocer of the area, Md Mokbul Hossain, told New Age on Saturday that he sold goods worth Tk 1 lakh on credit and he feared that the would not get his money back. He is afraid he would need to close his shop very soon.
Other grocers like him said they would head for their village home if they could recover the money from the workers.
Production at all the mills inn the bet was officially stopped as the Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation laid off Crescent Jute Mills, Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills, Star Jute Mills and People’s Jute Mills Thursday evening on grounds of fund crunch, ‘labour unrest,’ and power outages for seven to eight hours a day.
The mill officials said the workers of the four mills have about Tk 45 crore outstanding with the mills.
The labourers of the Star Jute Mills have not received their payment for 22 weeks and the workers for six months, labourers at the People’s Jute Mills for 19 weeks and workers for 7 months, labourers at the Crescent Jute Mills for 18 weeks and workers for 6 months and the labourers at the Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills for 17 weeks and the workers for five months.
The mill workers have also been passing their days with hardship as they are left with no money. They could run their family till now by selling their wages for lower prices.
They have been selling their wage slips they receive at the end of the week for prices lower than what they are worth to a syndicate of businessmen, said Md Mohsin, 50, an engineering department labourer at the People’s Jute Mills. He said he had started selling piper betel and cigarettes to earn some money so that he could barely run his family.
‘We are given wage slips at the end of the week in stead of cash so that we could encash them when the authorities disburse money. But we have been selling the slips to some businessmen for lower prices and they would later collect the money from the authorities,’ said Yunus Ali, a labourer at the Crescent Jute Mills. He said a slip of Tk 1,000 could be sold for Tk 700 to at best Tk 750. ‘We have no other option but to sell the slips so that we can buy food for our family now.’ |
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