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23 June 2020

Eight factories belonging to the Windy Group, which supplies to H&M and Zara, have been accused of sacking 3,000 workers as part of a union busting exercise. Garment workers sacked from Windy Group factories Saybolt Tex, Windy Wet & Dry Process and Tanaz Fashions have been staging hunger strikes and other protests at Windy Group factory premises...

There have been frequent accusations from labour rights groups in recent months that factory owners are using the coronavirus pandemic as a means by which to bust unions.

The unions for the Windy Group workers claim that each time workers from the three factories have attempted to form unions, they have been dismissed. They claim 1,600 workers were fired from Saybolt. 1,200 from Tanaz Fashion and 200 from Windy Wet & Dry Process.

Amirul Haque Amin, president, National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) in Bangladesh, said: “Targeting three factories out of eight of Windy Group and retrenching 3000 workers of these three factories is purposeful and similar to destruction of union. “Note that retrenched three thousand workers were not also paid fully according to law and agreement done by the management. Nominally the compensation was given to the workers...

NGWF, Bangladesh Revolutionary Garment Workers Federation, and Akota Garment Workers Federation recently staged a symbolic hunger strike to call for the reinstatement of the 3,000 dismissed workers.