15 factories declare holiday

Following a protest at a garment factory in Gazipur demanding a salary increase, 15 nearby factories have declared a holiday, fearing further unrest.

According to the workers and locals, workers of Irish Fashion Ltd. staged demonstration on Sunday (January 5) on Chandra-Nabinagar highway in Gazipur, demanding a wage increase. Later, they took to the highway in the morning.

As per a government proposal, a nine percent salary increase is mandated for workers who have completed one year of service.

However, workers with less than one year of service staged demonstrations on the highway, demanding a wage hike.

Later the workers from other factories joined the demonstrating workers.

During the demonstration, traffic movement on the highway remained halted for a while.

Abu Taleb, assistant superintendent of industrial police in Gazipur, said, "Traffic on the Chandra-Nabinagar highway was disrupted for some time due to the protest. Several factories in the vicinity were declared closed due to the agitation by the workers of the Irish Fashion factory. Additional police forces were deployed in the area."

However, the vehicular movement resumed after the workers left the highway.