Getting paid to do nothing?
BJMC executives retaining positions three years after mill closure, while around 70,000 employees laid off
Crescent Jute Mills, located at Khalishpur in Khulna district was the second largest jute mills in terms of area and production capacity. Three years ago, the massive 113 acres premises of the mill used to remain vibrant with thousands of workers and officials.
However, like all other state-run jute mills, this mill was shut down in 2020, leaving more than 2,000 workers jobless.
Many locals also got affected indirectly by this move. Abdul Malek, owner of a local grocery store, said, "Three years ago, I never imagined that I would not get any customers. The labour quarters are empty now. There are only mill officials here who sometimes come to my shop. I have been struggling to run my business."
In fact, the once vibrant neighbourhood has become a deserted place as most of the workers who lost their jobs in 2020 left Khalishpur. However, around 300 of its officials are still living on the factory premises.
When I go to the mill, the officials say our money has been blocked by the ministry and it will be released before Eid. But, that Eid never came for me.
Unlike the labourers, they are getting full benefits from the government, such as regular salaries, accommodation in officers' quarters and various other amenities.
Former workers who still live in the area said these officials are getting salary for doing nothing. However, BJMC claimed that these officials are guarding valuable assets of the corporation.
Golam Kabir, chairman of BJMC, said, "We have engaged all of our officials in maintaining the property and monitoring the tender process. So far, we have published four tenders to reopen the mills."
"Our officials are protecting more than 1,300 acres of real estate and numerous infrastructure. The claim that they are being paid without any job is baseless," he added.
Our officials are protecting more than 1,300 acres of real estate and numerous infrastructure. The claim that they are being paid without any job is baseless.
In fact, BJMC has been maintaining hundreds of workers who, with all the factories closed, apparently do not have any job to do.
For instance, there are 10 officials in the production section at the BJMC headquarters.
When this correspondent visited BJMC headquarters at Motijheel at 11:00am on Monday, six of the officials were absent.
The situation was the same for their marketing department. There are around 25 officials in the department but only a handful of them were present in the office.
When this was pointed out to the chairman, he said, "As there is no production, our officials mostly do various administrative tasks. Some of us work with the procurement department as well."
At present, BJMC's total manpower is 2,517 officers and employees. When all the factories were closed indefinitely in 2020, BJMC sacked more than 70,000 workers (permanent and temporary) overnight on the grounds of recurring financial loss but retained all of its officers and administrative staff.
Many of them are based in the mills, zonal offices and training centres. The corporation has been spending crores to maintain this massive workforce.
In the last fiscal, BJMC spent Tk 140 crore for officials' salaries. BJMC suffered a financial loss of more than Tk 250 crore and most of its budget went into paying off salary, maintaining the closed mills, estates and machineries.
We have devised a plan to assimilate the skilled and experienced officials into other state-run corporations and leave some officials under the golden handshake scheme. We shall retain only 200-300 officials at BJMC to monitor the leased out mills.
PRESENT STATE OF FORMER WORKERS
While the officials are enjoying a well-paid and carefree life, more than 15,000 workers are yet to receive their due salaries and benefits from BJMC, even three years after the lay off.
BJMC has not paid a single penny to 11,000 temporary workers of five jute mills -- Khalishpur Jute Mill, Daulatpur Jute Mill, Jatio Jute Mill, RR Jute Mill and KFD Jute Mill.
Around 4,000 permanent workers of different jute mills also did not get their due benefits and salaries due to spelling mistakes in their credentials and pending court cases against them.
Many workers are spending miserable lives in the slums near the jute mills with the hope that someday they will get their money.
Abdur Rashid, one such worker of Khalishpur Jute Mill, said, "I have worked seven years at the mill. I was supposed to become a permanent worker. Now for the last three years, I have been pulling a rented rickshaw-van and sometimes I work as a day labourer."
"When I go to the mill, the officials say our money has been blocked by the ministry and it will be released before Eid. But, that Eid never came for me," he said.
Again, many workers are also waiting with the hope that one day the government will reopen the mills and re-employ the former workers as the minister for jute and textile promised in 2020.
Md Nurul Amin, a worker of Daulatpur Jute Mills, said, "Many workers who received money from BJMC spent much of it to survive in this inflation. We have the skills to work in a jute mills; we do not know any other trade."
"The hope that one day the mills will re-open and we shall get back to our work is the only thing that still keeps us alive," added Amin.
CONCERNS OVER BJMC'S ROLE
Experts and labour leaders have expressed concern over BJMC's indifference towards workers and their role in reopening the mills.
Ruhul Amin, a labour leader and coordinator of Sramik-Krishak Chhatra-Janata Oikya Parishad, said, "So many officials are taking salaries on taxpayers' money for doing so called 'maintenance and administrative works' but still they could not reopen the mills and pay the workers their due salaries. This is an example of outright negligence and injustice."
Eminent economist Dr Badiul Alam Majumdar, secretary of Shujan, a citizen's platform, said, "The government could have earned millions of foreign revenue by modernising and reviving the jute industry, as the demand of biodegradable fibre is on the rise in the international market. The jute industry is one of the very few industries of our country where we do not have to import any raw material."
"The complicated and corrupt bureaucratic machine has destroyed this industry. Instead of finding out these officials, the government has been unjustly punishing the poor workers. The government should reopen and revive the state-run jute industries for the sake of our economy and rehabilitate the workers without any delay," added Dr Majumdar.
Abdur Rouf, secretary of ministry of jute and textile, said that some of BJMC's officials will also lose their jobs in the near future.
"We have devised a plan to assimilate the skilled and experienced officials into other state-run corporations and leave some officials under the golden handshake scheme. We shall retain only 200-300 officials at BJMC to monitor the leased out mills," said Rouf.
Regarding the pending salary of the workers, he said, "There are only few workers left who are yet to receive their salaries and benefits due to some administrative complexities and pending cases against them. Once these issues are resolved, they will get their money too."