Twenty garment factories were shut at Tongibari in Ashulia industrial area today as workers, demonstrating to press home their various demands including wage hike, clashed with police leaving at least 50 injured.
Officer-in-charge of Ashulia Police Station, Badrul Alam said the workers of Natural Denim Garment factory started protests in the morning demanding implementation of the new wage board for the workers.
Chase and counter-chase took place as police tried to disperse the crowd.
The garment workers hurled brick chips at police when police charged baton and lobbed teargas shells to disperse them, leaving at least 50 people injured. The injured were admitted to different hospitals in the area.
In another incident, several thousand garment workers in the Ashulia Industrial Belt staged demonstrations demanding implementation of the new wage board.
Ashulia Industrial police inspector Faruk Hossain said the demonstration began when the workers of Knit Asia garment factory found an indefinite closure notice hung on the main gate of the factory.
Several thousand workers from the Ashulia Industrial area, including Washing and Design Garment in Jamgarah, Jonron Garments and New Asia Garment in Narsinghapur also went out of their workplaces and staged demonstration demanding implementation of the new wage board.
The protesters went to the Abdullahpur-Bipile road and tried to block the road. On information, police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control, reports UNBConnect.
Following the violence, the authorities of 20 garment factories suspended production in their factories.
During the protest, the garment workers chanted slogans demanding wage hike.
Meanwhile, several hundred garment workers of Board Bazar area blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway for about half- an- hour following rumour of death of a fellow worker in a road accident at Borobari in Gazipur.
Police said Abdul Aziz, a worker of the garment factory, TRZ, was injured when a pick-up van hit him from behind at Borobari at around 7:45am.
He was rushed to Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
When a rumour of his death spread in the area, several hundred garment workers, while going to their workplaces, from Board Bazar blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway at Borobari, halting traffic movement for almost half-an-hour.