20 factories declared holiday in Gazipur after police clash

Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Amjad Hossain has confirmed that holiday has been declared in at least 18 to 20 factories in Gazipur following garment workers’ protests demanding a minimum wage of Tk 30,000 and subsequent clash with police in Kaliakair, especially in the nearly 13-kilometre stretch from Konabari to Chandra where various garment factory authorities shut operations. Several people were injured in the clash on Saturday (October 31).

He said workers of 10 to 12 factories in different areas of Gazipur were protesting sporadically, causing severe traffic congestion on the Dhaka-Tangail highway. Holiday was declared in at least 18 to 20 factories due to worker unrest in Kaliakair and police were working to bring the situation under control.

According to police and local sources, workers of Interstop factory blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Chandra Palli Bidyut area of Kaliakair upazila and began the protest around 2:30pm on Saturday. Workers of several nearby factories later joined them.

The workers placed soil-filled sacks, wood and bamboo on the highway and set them on fire, stopping vehicular movement across several kilometres of the road. Passengers and transport workers faced severe hardship in the prolonged traffic jam.

Thana police and industrial police rushed to the spot on receiving the information and tried to persuade the workers to clear the road. Clash erupted with police when an attempt was made to remove the workers around 5:30pm. Police fired tear gas and sound grenades to control the situation while the workers hurled brickbats at them. Several people were injured in the clash.

Holiday was declared in the nearby factories after the clash. Earlier, at least 12 factories had been shut to avoid any untoward incident.

Industrial police and workers said protests demanding a wage hike had been continuing for the past two weeks in various areas of Gazipur, including Konabari and Mouchak. The government has decided to form a new wage board to raise workers’ wages but worker unrest persists in different factories.