THE government's move to have a separate force for maintaining peace in the industrial units is to be welcomed. It is understood that the said force would be in place in the next three months. Regrettably, our RMG sector has been susceptible to violence and vandalism both because of localised grievances as well allegedly external manipulation.
We had witnessed with horror in the recent past the brazen and senseless destruction of many garment factories; several factories located inside the EPZs were also subjected to vandalism.
In most cases the situation had gone out of hand primarily due to the fact that the law enforcing agencies did not, or could not act timely or adequately. This was either because of the standoff distance of the force from the place of occurrence or because there was not enough force to quell the mob. One would hope that such a force would be deployed at nodal points so that they can respond to a situation quickly.
We would like to suggest that the relevant authorities make a case study of all recent instances of disturbances and vandalism in the garment sector. There is need to know why in certain cases unrest in one factory spread so quickly and involved so many others, not only in its close vicinity, but also in many that were far off from where the disturbance initially occurred. There is need to have a well trained surveillance team for these units to warn of any impending situation.
No doubt industries, particularly those oriented towards export, can hardly afford to have their work schedule hampered because of workers' unrest, and everything must be done to ensure that the environment in the RMG units is peaceful. However, one must caution against such a force becoming a coercive instrument and a handmaiden of the owners to suppress workers' grievances.
We feel that while a police force with a quick reflex is the last resort for the physical protection of any establishment the only thing, which can ensure that a precipitate situation did not come about in the first place, is a good owner-worker relationship predicated on the management's sympathetic attitude towards the genuine needs of the workers. Peace and discipline in an industrial unit are not a function of force but of good management.