The government has formed a six-member committee to review the labour and business environment at the Beximco Industrial Park, an enclave of 24 industrial units owned by troubled conglomerate Beximco.

Headed by Labour and Employment Adviser M Sakhawat Hussain, the panel will recommend short-, medium- and long-term measures to resolve labour unrest at the park.

Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed, Home Affairs Adviser Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, Industries Adviser Adilur Rahman Khan, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin and the Chief Adviser's Special Envoy on International Affairs Lutfey Siddiqui are the other members of the panel.

The committee will also take required measures to ensure the desired work environment in similar firms, according to a notification issued by the cabinet division yesterday.

A five-member committee, comprising secretaries from the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority as well as the commerce and labour ministries, will assist the advisory panel.

The administrator of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association will also support the committee.

The fresh move comes after the government decided to lend Beximco Tk 60 crore from the national budget to help clear wages for October in the face of continued demonstrations by workers inside the industrial park in Dhaka's Gazipur.

The industrial conglomerate, which employs roughly 40,000 people, fell into trouble after the arrest of its vice-chairman, Salman F Rahman, who served as private sector adviser to former prime minister Sheikh Hasina before the ouster of the Awami League administration by a mass uprising on August 5 this year.

Production at 24 units inside the industrial park came to a halt due to a liquidity crisis, which meant the company contended with raw material shortages and outstanding wages owed to workers.

The group has faced difficulties securing new letters of credit for raw material imports as banks are reluctant to extend fresh funds to the conglomerate.

Most of the loans given to the group have soured, causing its main lender, Janata Bank, to put a halt on disbursing fresh funds.

Of the Tk 23,000 crore that Beximco borrowed from Janata Bank, Tk 19,000 crore turned sour by the July-September quarter of this year, according to the bankers.

On November 10 this year, Bangladesh Bank, based on a High Court directive, appointed a receiver to Beximco Group to manage its financial affairs and assets.