All but one factory out of 1,792 readymade garment factories that had suspended operations in Savar, Ashulia and Dhamrai due to workers’ unrest reopened on Tuesday.
Workers had returned to the factories, Industrial Police-1 Superintendent of Police Md Sarwar Alam, told Dhaka Tribune, adding that work at some was not fully up and running yet.
“Only the Naba Knit factory is still closed because its employees are not working. [However,] the situation has been normal for the past few days,” he added.
This correspondent visited several neighbourhoods Tuesday morning to see workers gathered in front of most of the factories. There were notices put up on their entrances that they had reopened. Police were in front of several factories ready to deal with unexpected situations.
Several workers said their supervisors contacted them over the phone on Monday night to tell them that their factories were reopening.
Garment workers have been protesting for several weeks for a pay rise, with their demonstrations being marked by clashes with law enforcement and vandalism.
They demand Tk23,000 as their minimum wage, but the government on Saturday proposed a draft with Tk12,500 as the minimum monthly salary, raising it from Tk8,000.