Restaurant employees demand cash support
Restaurant personnel yesterday demanded income support and meals rations from the federal government as a way to survive the week-prolonged "hard lockdown" beginning today.
They made this plea throughout a rally before the National Press Club, organised by the Bangladesh Hotel Restaurant Sweetmeat Workers Federation (BHRSWF).
To tame the recent surge in coronavirus attacks in the united states, the authorities has once more imposed strict constraints on movement for a week-long period, where each and every one offices, hotels, and eating places will be shuttered.
These limitations will force restaurant personnel to sit idle in the home and have problems with a loss of income, the BHRSWF said.
For instance, many restaurant personnel became jobless when the federal government declared an over-all holiday to curb the pass on of Covid-19 through the first outbreak in March last year.
At that time, numerous personnel were sacked without being paid their arrears.
They also didn't receive any festival reward during Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid-ul-Azha.
And now once more, owners have sent their personnel on leave good government's directive but without paying the regular salaries, the federation said.
Therefore, hotel and restaurant personnel are passing hard times, it added.
Akhtaruzzaman Khan, vice-president of the BHRSWF, said that during Ramadan every year, owners usually send their staff home empty-handed.
"And simply because the restriction is defined to begin, a similar thing will occur once again," he added.
Considering the circumstance, the BHRSWF submitted a seven-point demand, including Tk 10,000 monthly cash assist and foodstuff rations, to the Prime Minister's Office following the rally.
The federation estimates that more than 30 lakh workers have employment with hotels and restaurants across the country.
