Garment workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway again for nearly three hours on Saturday, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, triggering clashes with police.
The clashes broke out around 5:30pm on Saturday when police attempted to disperse the protesters. Police fired tear gas and sound grenades, leaving several people injured.
Earlier, workers had blocked the highway from around 2:30pm, triggering severe traffic congestion. To prevent further unrest, authorities declared holidays at least 12 factories in the area.
The blockade brought traffic to a complete standstill on the highway, causing widespread suffering for commuters.
According to police and local sources, workers of Interstop factory began protesting by blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Chandra Palli Bidyut area of Kaliakair Upazila around 2:30pm on Saturday. Workers from several other factories later joined the protest.
During the demonstration, the workers placed sacks filled with soil, wood and bamboo on the highway and set them on fire, bringing traffic to a standstill along several kilometres of the road.
The protesting workers said they had been urging factory authorities to increase their wages and benefits over the past few days.
However, as the authorities failed to reach a decision on their demands, the workers became agitated, stopped working and eventually took to the streets.
According to industrial police and workers, demonstrations demanding higher wages have been continuing for the past two weeks in Konabari, Mouchak and several other areas. Although the government has decided to form a new wage board to review workers' salaries, labour unrest has persisted at several factories.
On Saturday, during the lunch break, workers of Interstop factory refused to resume work and took to the Dhaka-Tangail highway. They later blocked the road by placing sacks of waste and debris from nearby areas on it.
Workers of the neighbouring Divine Textile factory subsequently joined the protest, spreading labour unrest among factories from Chandra to Konabari.
In response to the escalating situation, authorities declared holidays at 12 factories in the area.
After receiving reports of the protest, police from the local police station and industrial police rushed to the scene and tried to bring the situation under control by persuading the workers to end their demonstration.
The blockade began around 2:30pm, causing severe inconvenience to passengers and transport workers. At around 5:30pm, tensions escalated into clashes when police attempted to remove the workers from the highway.
Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters, who retaliated by throwing bricks and stones at law enforcers, turning the area into a virtual battleground.
The highway blockade also left thousands of passengers and drivers stranded. Police repeatedly urged the workers to clear the road to ease public suffering, but they ignored the appeals and continued their demonstration, setting fires on the highway.
Police also fired sound grenades in an attempt to disperse the protesters and restore normalcy. Clashes between workers and police continued, spreading panic across the area.
Kaliakair Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shahidul Islam said police were trying to calm the workers and bring the situation under control.
"Authorities have declared holidays at 10 to 12 nearby factories. We have arrived at the scene to pacify the workers and are trying to contain the clashes," he said.
Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Mohammad Amzad Hossain said the situation had remained normal in the morning, but workers from several factories joined the protest in the afternoon.
"The workers had been blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Palli Bidyut area for about an hour. When police tried to remove them, they hurled bricks and stones at law enforcers, triggering clashes. We are trying to bring the situation under control," he said.