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At least four police personnel were injured in clashes with garment workers in Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on Saturday as protests over wage increases and other workplace demands turned violent.
The unrest, which began in the morning, involved chases and counter-chases and the throwing of bricks and stones. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters and bring the situation under control.
In the wake of the unrest, authorities declared holidays at at least 25 garment factories in different areas of Ashulia to prevent further escalation.
Meanwhile, industrial police recovered three cocktail-like objects in front of a factory belonging to the Nassa Group in the Nishchintapur area around 1pm. The Anti-Terrorism Unit (ATU) has been informed of the recovery.
According to police and workers, employees of Naim Knitwear in the Zirabo area stopped work on Saturday morning, demanding that the minimum monthly wage be raised to Tk30,000, an end to blacklisting and a halt to arbitrary dismissals.
The workers subsequently left the factory and staged demonstrations. At one point, they called on workers at several nearby factories to join their protest. Incidents of brick-throwing targeting neighbouring factories were also reported.
As tensions escalated, protesters clashed with police. Workers from garment factories in Kathgara, Nishchintapur and adjoining areas also joined demonstrations over the same demands.
A section of the protesters took position on the Baipail-Abdullahpur road, where they engaged in chases and counter-chases with police and threw bricks and stones.
Around noon, law enforcement personnel chased the protesters and fired tear gas to clear the road and disperse the crowds.
Ashulia Police Station Investigation Inspector Harun Or Rashid said around 1:15pm that police had removed workers of Naim Knitwear from the road after they staged a demonstration in front of their factory in the morning.
He said industrial police had to fire tear gas in the Nishchintapur area to bring the situation under control, adding that the situation was normal at the time.
A female garment worker said production at her factory had remained suspended since morning as workers demanded higher wages.
She said workers from several nearby factories came to their factory gates and urged employees to come out and join the protest. Police later fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. Workers of the New Age Group also walked out of their factory during the unrest, she added.
An official of a garment factory in the Amtala area of Kathgara, speaking on condition of anonymity, said several factories in the neighbourhood had declared holidays because of the protests.
He said workers from one factory were urging employees of other factories to join the demonstrations and that factories were being targeted with bricks and stones when workers refused to come out.
“Factory authorities are being forced to declare holidays to avoid further trouble,” he said.
Khairul Mamun, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, said workers had long been demanding that the minimum monthly wage be fixed at Tk30,000.
They were also demanding an end to blacklisting and arbitrary dismissals, he said.
He said the labour minister had earlier announced that a wage board would be formed by October, but the lack of effective action had fuelled frustration among workers.
Mamun said a meeting at the Ministry of Labour on Friday night had decided to initiate the process of forming the minimum wage board by Sunday.
However, the decision had not been properly communicated to workers, leaving them uncertain about whether their demands would be addressed, he added.
He stressed the need for swift implementation of the workers’ legitimate demands.
Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police of Industrial Police-1 in Ashulia, said around 2:30pm that at least 25 factories had declared holidays due to the labour unrest.
He said four to five police personnel had been injured after being hit by bricks and stones thrown by protesters in Nishchintapur. One officer sustained an injury above the eye.
Police had to fire tear gas to bring the situation under control, he said, adding that the situation was under control at the time.
Regarding the recovery of the three cocktail-like objects in front of the Nassa Group factory in Nishchintapur shortly after 1pm, Bhuiyan said the ATU had been informed.
He said ATU personnel would visit the scene and take necessary action.
