Garment makers yesterday protested a government order to shut down factories during the ICC Cricket World Cup, saying the move would affect productivity at the factories.
Power distribution companies have already asked the manufacturers to follow government orders and keep factories closed from 5pm to 11pm, so that the cricket crazy viewers can watch matches on television from the saved electricity.
"I have already instructed the manufacturers to close factories as per government decision during the peak hours to save power for watching the cricket matches on TV," said Abdus Sobhan, managing director of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Limited (DPDC).
The manufacturers have been asked to follow the government decision until April 2, he said.
"The workers will also be deprived of overtime allowances and many manufacturers will have to delay shipments for disruption in production for such a move," said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
BGMEA has already petitioned the related ministries so that the government decision is changed, Murshedy said. The exporters would not be able to execute the orders given by the international buyers in time because of the decision, he added.
"The decision is depressing our morale. Those are the peak hours for production," said Salim Osman, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA).
Moreover, the workers will lose the overtime bills for reduced production, and more than 5,000 garment exporters employing millions of workers will be affected by the decision, he added.
The government took similar steps during the soccer World Cup in 2010 as power blackouts during the decisive matches saw tens of thousands of people staging violent protests, vandalising power offices and damaging cars.
Along with India and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh is a co-host of the World Cup cricket, which kicked off in Dhaka on February 19.
The Daily Star, Mon, 28/02/2011
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