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NARAYANGANJ: Readymade garment (RMG) workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000 clashed with police in Fatullah, Narayanganj, on Wednesday morning, prompting police to fire tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse them.
The incident took place in the Kath-erpool area of Sadar Upazila, where workers from several garment factories staged protests and attempted to block roads by setting fires.
According to eyewitnesses and police sources, workers from Microfiber, Liberty and several nearby factories walked out of their workplaces on Wednesday morning to press for a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. At one point, they allegedly threw bricks and stones in an attempt to bring workers from other factories out onto the streets.
The protesters later set fires at several points along the Hajiganj-Post Office Road in the Kath-erpool area.
They subsequently gathered and attempted to march towards the Shibu Market area of the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road. Industrial police and local police stopped them, triggering a series of chases and counter-chases as officers tried to clear the roads.
Police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse the protesters, escalating tensions in the area.
Abdullah Al Mahmud, superintendent of police of Industrial Police-4, told Prothom Alo that workers from Microfiber had left their factory and tried to bring employees of neighbouring factories out onto the streets.
Police dispersed the protesters and detained several people, he said, adding that the authorities would not allow workers to block roads under any circumstances.
The situation came under control around 12:30pm, although law enforcement personnel remained deployed in the area.
Earlier, over the past two days, garment workers had blocked roads in the Shibu Market and Jalkuri areas of the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road, demanding a minimum wage of Tk30,000.
The protests also led to clashes between workers and police, disrupting traffic on the link road for around four hours.
Police later fired tear gas shells and chased the protesters to disperse them. The situation has since returned to normal.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Operations) Tarek Al Mehedi said six people had been detained in connection with the incident.
