Members of the army, industrial police, and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) are patrolling the roads in the Savar industrial area on Tuesday, despite no reports of untoward incidents.
According to the industrial police, most workers have returned to work in the factories. However, several factories were closed.
In the last few days, there were continuous worker protests and road blockades, no activity by workers or outsiders has been observed anywhere since Tuesday morning.
Closed factories
In the morning, demanding the reopening of the factory, workers of “The Dress and the Ideas” factory gathered at the main gate of the factory in Savar’s Ashulia.
The workers reported that last Saturday, four female supervisors and a line manager were dismissed by the authorities, and the factory was subsequently declared closed on Sunday.
Around 1:30am on Monday, workers discovered that equipment and goods were being removed from the factory by truck. In response, they took up positions outside the factory early in the morning to demand answers and action.
At around 8am, army personnel patrolling the road spoke with the workers and assured them that they would discuss the issue with the factory owners. During this time, the army requested the workers to refrain from any activities that could worsen the law and order situation.
One of the workers said: "After dismissing the supervisors and the line manager, the owner closed the factory on Sunday. Now our demand is for the factory to be reopened. Our payday is due. If it stays closed, we don’t know when we will get our wages."
Another factory named “Naba Knit Composite Limited” in Shimultala, Ashulia, was found closed.
In addition, “Gildan Bangladesh”, a garment factory in the Palashbari area, was also closed.
Gildan Bangladesh factory security guard Md Mintu said: "All our factories are closed indefinitely. For the past few days, workers have been protesting for various demands. No one came today (Tuesday)."
What officials say
Anwar Parvez, executive director (Public Relations) of BEPZA, said that there are a total of 86 factories in the old and extended zones of the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ), and all of them are operating peacefully.
At around 12:30pm on Tuesday., Superintendent of Police Mohammad Sarwar Alam of Industrial Police-1 in Ashulia said: “The situation in Savar and Ashulia is normal. Workers have joined work on time. No reports of untoward incidents have been received from anywhere. Some factories have been closed because workers did not work. A list is being prepared to determine the number of closed factories, but the number is not very high.”
He added that the issue with The Dress and The Ideas garment factory will be resolved through a discussion with the owners in the afternoon.
Over the past few days, incidents of worker protests in the Savar-Ashulia industrial area have been happening over demands such as wages, attendance bonuses, stopping layoffs, and new hires.
In response to this situation, on Monday, the Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, directed a joint operation by the army, police, and industrial police to ensure the security of the factories and to take action against those inciting unrest.