Kushtia, March 20 (IU Correspondent/OurVoice): The Kushtia Birhi Sramik Sangram Parishad staged demonstration in the district town on Sunday demanding to protect the birhi industry from the aggression of foreign multinational companies and to reduce tariff imposed on birhi from the upcoming fiscal year.
Around six hundred workers under the banner of Kushtia Birhi Sramik Sangram Parishad staged demonstration in front of Kushtia Public Library premises to press home their demands.
Their demands are reduction of tariff on birhi, withdrawal of 10 percent income tax on birhi, enactment of protection law for birhi workers, ban on issuance of birhi factory licenses without on-site inspection and legal action against counterfeiters.
They, later, handed a memorandum over to the chairman of the National Board of Revenue through the Kushtia Chamber of Commerce.
Kushtia district Awami League general secretary Azgar Ali was present as the chief guest, while Bangladesh Birhi Sramik Federation general secretary Abdur Rahman was present as special guest with its vice-president Nazim Uddin was in the chair.
Addressing the demonstration, the speakers said, “Millions of workers including the helpless, disadvantaged, extremely poor, handicapped and widows make a living by working in the birhi sector. But the country’s ancient labor-intensive industry was being destroyed by the conspiracy of foreign multinational companies.
Multinational companies were smuggling thousands crores of money abroad by burning the lungs of the people of this country. Some corrupt local officials are taking advantage of foreign multinational companies and imposing excessive taxes on birhis. Birhi owners were being forced to close their factories as they could not bear the burden of this exorbitant tax.
‘If there is a conspiracy against the birhi workers, we will be forced to go for a tougher movement,’ they added.
