Garment workers continued protests across several industrial areas on Wednesday, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, as clashes with police left at least 50 people injured, including law enforcement personnel, and forced more than 200 factories in Savar and Ashulia to declare holidays.
Demonstrations, road blockades and confrontations were reported in Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj, while additional security forces were deployed in several areas to contain the unrest.
In Savar, clashes broke out in the Padma Mor area of Hemayetpur around 8:15am and later spread to Ulail, where workers confronted police in front of the Al-Muslim Group factory around 9am.
Workers threw bricks and stones at police, who responded with tear gas shells, sound grenades and rubber bullets. A police vehicle belonging to the officer-in-charge of Savar Model Police Station was also set on fire.
Dhaka District Superintendent of Police Shamima Parveen said at least 50 people, including police personnel, workers and passersby, were injured. OC Saiful Alam sustained serious injuries, she added.
The confrontation began after workers gathered near Padma Mor to press their wage demands. Police attempted to clear the road after protesters occupied it, triggering clashes that later spread to nearby locations.
Around 9:10am, workers blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway, bringing traffic in both directions to a halt and causing severe congestion. Between 30,000 and 40,000 workers had gathered in the area from both directions, Shamima said.
Several factories in Hemayetpur, Ulail and surrounding areas later declared holidays amid the unrest, with some workers returning home peacefully.
Three platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed in Savar and Ashulia to strengthen security in the industrial belt.
Meanwhile, garment workers in Gazipur blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway near Signboard in the Gacha area around 9:30am, bringing traffic to a standstill.
Between 2,000 and 4,000 workers took to the streets, throwing bricks and stones at police during a standoff. Law enforcement personnel fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse them.
Mohammad Amjad Hossain, superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police, said another group of workers had gathered near Joydebpur around 8:30am but was dispersed. He said the situation remained stable in Salna, Rajendrapur, Shafipur and Palli Bidyut, while tension persisted near Kashimpur.
In Narayanganj, garment workers from several factories in Fatullah took to the streets for the third consecutive day. Tensions escalated around 10:30am near Katherpul in Kutubail, adjacent to the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road, when workers attempted to block the road.
Police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse the protesters following chases and counter-chases. Five people were detained.
Workers said they had been demonstrating peacefully when BNP leaders arrived and assaulted some of them, prompting police intervention. Local shopkeeper Jamal Mia, however, said an argument had broken out between workers and local BNP activists before police arrived.
Additional Superintendent of Police Tarek Al Mehedi said five people had been detained in connection with the incident.
In the capital, police increased security in Mirpur and Uttara as protests continued. Police dispersed workers gathered outside several factories in Pallabi and near Purabi Cinema Hall in Mirpur-11, although no major incidents were reported.
In Uttara, police and other law enforcement personnel took positions along the stretch from Rajlokkhi to the airport, with water cannons and police vans stationed in the area.
Md Hafizur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Mirpur Model Police Station, said seven of the eight garment factories under his jurisdiction remained operational. Workers at one factory had briefly stopped working but resumed after being persuaded to do so.
By Wednesday evening, more than 200 garment factories in Savar and Ashulia had declared holidays amid concerns over workers' safety and the deteriorating situation in the industrial areas.
Industrial Police-1 Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan confirmed the closures.
Shamima Parveen alleged that unidentified troublemakers were exploiting the workers' presence to create instability. She said police had detained one person in Hemayetpur with a crude bomb and another over the torching of a police vehicle.
BGB headquarters public relations officer Shariful Islam said a total of 24 platoons had been deployed across key industrial areas in Savar-Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj to maintain security and prevent further incidents.
Of these, five platoons were deployed in Hemayetpur, Ashulia and Baipail; 13 in different parts of Gazipur, including Chowrasta, Bhogra Bypass, Chandra and Kaliakair; and six in Narayanganj.
Wage demands
The workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, saying the current minimum wage of Tk12,500 is insufficient to meet the rising cost of living.
Their five-point demands also include introducing rationing facilities in all garment factories, ensuring the right to form trade unions, ending arbitrary dismissals and blacklisting, and ensuring justice over the deaths of workers, including Amjad Hossain Kamal.
They have also called for the full implementation of labour laws.
The unrest has continued since Monday, with workers staging demonstrations and blocking roads in Mirpur, Gazipur, Savar, Ashulia and Narayanganj. Tuesday's protests also resulted in clashes and running battles with police, leaving around 10 police officers injured and four workers detained.
Meanwhile, garment worker Taufiq Sheikh, 22, who was injured during unrest in Gazipur on Monday, died while undergoing treatment at Shin Shin Japan Hospital in Uttara on Tuesday afternoon.
A junior layman in the cutting section of Laila Styles Ltd, Taufiq was reportedly recording the unrest on his mobile phone when he was attacked and beaten, according to his family. His body was taken to his village in Chhaygharia, Gobindaganj, Gaibandha, on Tuesday night. His janaza was scheduled for yesterday morning.
The protests have disrupted production at several factories and forced some to suspend operations as tensions persist across the country's major garment-producing areas.