The government gave the money, the payment of the dues of the workers of Beximco started on Sunday.
The government has handed over a check of Tk 525 crore 46 lakh to pay the dues of the workers of 14 lay-off establishments of Beximco Industrial Park. The government has given this money as a loan. Labor Secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman handed over the check to Beximco Limited Managing Director (MD) Osman Kaiser Chowdhury on Thursday. The dues of Beximco workers and employees will be paid in phases from next Sunday. The Ministry of Labor and Employment gave this information in a notification on Thursday.
There are 31,679 workers and 1,565 employees in the 14 laid-off establishments of Beximco Industrial Park. The 14 establishments have been completely closed since February 28. The check was handed over today as per the decision of the Advisory Committee meeting on the review of the labor and business situation of the establishments of Beximco Industrial Park held at the Secretariat on February 27, the day before the closure was announced.
After the meeting on February 27, Labor and Employment Advisor Brigadier General (Retd.) M Sakhawat Hossain said that the government will provide funds to pay the dues of Beximco workers and employees. Out of the total amount due, the Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance will provide Tk 325.46 crore. The remaining Tk 200 crore will be provided from the central fund under the Ministry of Labor and Employment. Accordingly, the dues were handed over to the company authorities today.
Salman F. Rahman, one of the leaders of the Beximco Group, is former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s private industry and investment advisor. Salman F. Rahman was arrested after the Awami League government fell in a student-public uprising on August 5. He has been in prison since August 13. On August 29, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) seized the bank accounts of Salman F. Rahman, his son Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman, and daughter-in-law Shazreh Rahman. In addition, due to defaulted loans, banks also stopped the company’s letter of credit or LC facilities. This put the companies in the Beximco Industrial Park in trouble. The factories stopped production due to the shortage of raw materials. Then the workers of these companies started protesting. In such a context, an advisory committee was formed under the leadership of Sakhawat Hossain to take decisions on the Beximco Group on behalf of the government.
The advisory committee initially decided that the company’s entrepreneurs’ shares would be sold to pay off the workers’ dues. Later, when complications arose in the sale of shares, the committee withdrew from that decision. Later, it was decided that the workers’ dues would be paid under the government’s management. Before that, however, the Beximco authorities announced layoffs in 14 companies and dismissed the workers. The total number of workers and employees in these 14 companies is about 33,000.
According to government data on the debts and liabilities of Beximco Group, the group owes Tk 23,285 crore to Janata Bank, Tk 1,424 crore to Sonali Bank, Tk 420 crore to Agrani Bank, Tk 987 crore to Rupali Bank, Tk 315 crore to National Bank, Tk 333 crore to UCB, Tk 938 crore to AB Bank, Tk 497 crore to Exim Bank, Tk 61 crore to Global Islami Bank, Tk 94 crore to Dutch-Bangla Bank, Tk 78 crore to IFIC Bank, and Tk 87 crore to financial institution BIFFL.
Banks and financial institutions have informed the advisory council committee about the collateral against loans and advances to companies under the Beximco Industrial Park. According to committee sources, banks and financial institutions have given loans to Beximco Group without proper collateral. The bank loans against 31 companies of the group are Tk 28,607 crore. Against this loan, there are assets worth Tk 4,932 crore including land, buildings, machinery, shares, and fixed deposits (FDRs). Accordingly, the pledged assets are 17.24 percent of the total loan.
Of the companies in whose names Beximco has taken loans, 12 do not exist. These 12 companies have loans worth Tk 12,000 crore. Janata Bank has given loans to these non-existent companies.
