Finance
Jute Mills Jute mills will be profitable only if modernised: Report
Dhaka, December 21: An organisation called 'Sarvajan Kotha' has said that it is possible to make the loss-making jute mills profitable only by taking steps to modernise the machinery.
"There has been no investment in the modernization of state jute mills in the last five decades. Jute factories are facing losses not due to financial crisis but due to lack of goodwill," the report said.
These views were expressed at a press conference held at Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Monday (December 21) at noon on the occasion of the publication of a field research report on jute mills and sugar mills.
Speaking at the press conference, Professor Mirza Taslima Sultana said, “On July 2 this year, the government announced the closure of 25 state-owned jute mills. At a time when different countries of the world are trying to retain employment through huge incentives, the government of Bangladesh has taken initiative to privatise jute mills with huge amount of land. Thousands of workers in different parts of the country, including Khalishpur in Khulna, have been evicted without paying their dues. Workers should not be evicted from their homes without paying their dues. But by doing so, the government itself is violating the labor law."
Speakers at the press conference said that the reason given by the government for the closure of state-owned jute mills was that 44 out of 48 years of establishment had been lost. But the reality is that no new investments have been made in jute mills since its inception or in the last five decades. No steps have been taken to modernize the equipment. Although it was said to close the jute mills to prevent losses, it was possible to make the loss mills profitable only by taking some necessary steps.
The research report said, "If a total fund of only Tk 1,000 to 1,200 crore was created, the production capacity of the state-owned jute mills would be multiplied and the production cost per unit would be significantly reduced." But we have seen that no initiative has been taken to solve these widely discussed problems in so many years."
The press conference demanded payment of arrears of all workers for protection of jute mills and sugar mills, identification of persons involved in irregularities and corruption, legal action against them, immediate opening of mills to increase production capacity and take necessary steps to reduce losses.
