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12 August, 2005ICEM News release No. 74/1998
The floods in Bangladesh have left workers and their families completely destitute.
More than two-thirds of the country are already flooded and the waters are continuing to rise. Many parts of the capital, Dhaka, are waist-deep in water.
The disruption to agriculture and communications has sent food prices soaring, while most industrial districts are completely waterlogged. As a result, workers have lost their jobs as well as their homes. In one of the world's poorest countries, their survival is now at stake.
Among the worst-hit are members of the Bangladesh Chemical Workers League (BCWL), which is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
"Our members are jobless, homeless, " reports BCWL General Secretary Md. Majibur Rahman Bhuiyan. "They have no earnings. More than 5,000 members and their families are badly affected. They need international solidarity much more than any time in the past. The flood situation is worsening day by day."
More than two-thirds of the country are already flooded and the waters are continuing to rise. Many parts of the capital, Dhaka, are waist-deep in water.
The disruption to agriculture and communications has sent food prices soaring, while most industrial districts are completely waterlogged. As a result, workers have lost their jobs as well as their homes. In one of the world's poorest countries, their survival is now at stake.
Among the worst-hit are members of the Bangladesh Chemical Workers League (BCWL), which is affiliated to the 20-million-strong International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM).
"Our members are jobless, homeless, " reports BCWL General Secretary Md. Majibur Rahman Bhuiyan. "They have no earnings. More than 5,000 members and their families are badly affected. They need international solidarity much more than any time in the past. The flood situation is worsening day by day."