NASSA Group Closes 16 Factories, Over 12,000 Workers Affected

NASSA Group has decided to permanently shut down 16 of its factory units located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Chattogram, and Cumilla export processing zones.

The decision was finalized during a tripartite meeting held on Tuesday, which included representatives from multiple stakeholders.

Following the announcement, protests erupted on Wednesday morning as workers took to the Bypile-Abdullahpur highway, demanding their unpaid wages and dues. A confrontation broke out between the protesting workers and police, prompting law enforcement to deploy water cannons and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

Ashulia Police Station officer-in-charge Abdul Hannan confirmed to the media that normal traffic flow resumed after about an hour of disruption.

Tuesday’s meeting was chaired by Arif Ahmed Khan, additional inspector at the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), and held at the DIFE headquarters in Dhaka. Attendees included representatives from the Bangladesh Army, Industrial Police-01, intelligence agencies, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), factory owners, and worker representatives.

A participant in the meeting confirmed that the decision to permanently shut the factories had been made. He also stated that the NASSA Group management had agreed to settle all pending wages and benefits of the workers according to the timeline outlined in the meeting’s memorandum of understanding (MoU).

NASSA Group employs over 12,000 workers across its 16 factories.

The factories set for closure are: AJ Super Garments, Firoza Garments, MAM Garments, NASSA Embroidery, NASSA Super Garments, NASSA Super Wash, NASSA Super Wash Unit-2, Native Packaging, NASSA Basic, NASSA Hi-Tech Wash (Ashulia, Savar), Lease Apparels, Lease Wash (Gazipur), MNC Apparels, Toywoods BD Co (Chattogram EPZ), NASSA Spinners, and NASSA Spinning (Cumilla EPZ).

Under the MoU, workers will receive their August salaries by October 15 and September salaries by October 30. Additionally, the group will pay 30 days’ basic wage as notice pay, provide service benefits equivalent to 30 days’ basic pay for each completed year of service (with a minimum attendance of 240 days per year), settle maternity leave benefits in accordance with the Bangladesh Labour Act, and clear any pending earned leave.

All payments, including those owed to previously laid-off employees, must be settled by November 30.

The agreement also ensures that all employees will be issued employment certificates, and no worker will be blacklisted online or in any digital database.

The MoU further stipulates that failure to implement these decisions will result in legal consequences under existing labour laws.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of Labour and Employment issued a formal statement reiterating the commitment to ensuring workers' dues are paid. The ministry said that the tripartite agreement was based on the recommendations of the 13th meeting of the advisory council on labour and business conditions, held at Beximco Industrial Park on September 16.

The crisis within NASSA Group deepened following the fall of the authoritarian Awami League government in August 2024 during a mass uprising. Since then, the group has faced ongoing instability and frequent worker unrest.

Over the past year, numerous demonstrations were held by workers demanding their unpaid wages, which often led to temporary factory closures, particularly in Ashulia.

NASSA Group was founded in 1990 by Nazrul Islam Mazumder, a former chairman of EXIM Bank and past president of the Bangladesh Association of Banks. Following the regime change, Nazrul and his wife, Nasreen Islam, were removed from EXIM Bank’s board by Bangladesh Bank on August 29, 2024. Nazrul was arrested on October 2 and later placed on remand in several cases involving charges of murder, corruption, and money laundering. He is currently in jail.

On September 21, NASSA Group signed a draft power of attorney to begin selling off assets in order to pay workers’ wages. The group’s financial troubles intensified as banks stopped issuing letters of credit and foreign buyers delayed their orders, worsening the liquidity crisis and leading to delayed wage payments and further unrest.