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** Police boss Wamala ends strike
** They survived
on doughnuts and water
KAMPALA - More than 1,000 young women who
were on strike at a local textile factory have been
fired.
The
firm, which produces and exports textiles to the United States under
the African Growth and Opportunity Act, Agoa, has also been closed
temporarily.
The employees, believed to be more than 1,000, and
popularly known as Agoa girls, were sacked following a two-day
strike at the Apparel Tri-Star factory in Bugolobi,
Kampala.
The
head of the company, Mr V. Kananathan, wrote to Dr David Ogaram, the
commissioner for labour in the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social
Development, yesterday confirming the sacking.
"In
light of the [strike], we have been forced to take a very painful
decision, which is to terminate the services of all our production
staff summarily due to unbecoming conduct," the official wrote in
his letter.
Kananathan said the strike had disrupted the operations of
the company, leading to "irreparable damage" to its reputation and
operations.
The
letter also announced the temporary closure of the factory. "In view
of the recent strike undertaken by our employees, we have decided to
temporarily close down the factory," Kananathan wrote.
The
official, who was not available for comment, said the girls would be
paid all their outstanding arrears as of Monday.
Strike ends
The
sacking of the girls came after Inspector General of Police Katumba
Wamala ended the strike yesterday.
The
girls had been protesting low pay, poor working conditions and
reports that some of them were about to be sacked.
They
also said that they were being forced to share a dormitory and
toilet facilities with males.
On
Tuesday morning, the girls barricaded themselves inside the
dormitory and refused to come out, despite appeals from management
and police. Then Maj. Gen. Wamala turned up at around midday
yesterday with a truckload of anti-riot cops. For close to an hour,
he urged the girls to call off the strike.
Some of
them told The Monitor that when they refused to open, Wamala ordered
his squad to storm.
The
police boss reportedly had asked the girls to end the strike while
he brokers a meeting between them and the management of Tri-Star,
which is run with government support.
That
meeting had been scheduled for Saturday and the girls had threatened
to burn the factory if the decision made did not go their
way.
The
Tri-Star management has refused to comment on the strike since it
began.
The police chief did not speak to reporters as he drove
out of the factory premises.
About
1,400 girls spent more than 24 hours inside the dormitory before the
strike ended.
After
the locks to the dorm were broken yesterday, several girls emerged
looking hungry and haggard and dashed to nearby shops to grab a
bite.
Some of
the girls, who spoke to The Monitor on condition of anonymity, said
they had survived on doughnuts and water from a fire
hose.
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