Amid protests over unmet demands made by workers, 45 factories in Dhaka's Savar and Ashulia industrial areas have announced closures for an indefinite period.
The factory owners made the decision on Tuesday in response to what they described as violence, illegal strikes, protests and vandalism, under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.
According to this section, workers will not receive wages for the duration of the factory closure.
Meanwhile, authorities at 25 factories declared a general holiday.
On Wednesday morning, indefinite closure notices were visible in front of factories located in various areas of Ashulia.
Section 13(1) of the aforementioned law states: "In case of an illegal strike at any branch or section of an establishment, the owner may partially or fully close the branch or establishment, and workers participating in the strike will not receive any wages."
On Tuesday, while most workers in Ashulia had joined their workplaces, discontent arose in the afternoon, leading to the closure of several factories by the authorities.
The notice from the administration and HR department of Envoy Complex mentioned that workers had stopped work to make illegal and unjust demands, despite repeated requests to resume normal work.
The factory was eventually closed for the safety of the factory and its workers.
According to the president of the Bangladesh Garments Industrial Workers Federation's Savar-Ashulia regional committee, Mohammad Ibrahim, despite meetings with the BGMEA to address the issues, workers were not complying.
The factory owners, facing pressure and buyer withdrawals, resorted to closing the factories, impacting workers who would not receive wages during the closure.
It has been reported that normal operations continue in factories in the DEPZ and other areas of Ashulia.
As of 12pm on Wednesday, no protests or disturbances were reported on the highways in Ashulia.
In addition, several factories in the vicinity of the Chakraborti and Mojarmill bus stands on the Nabinagar-Chandra highway were closed on Wednesday.
Earlier, workers at the Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur blocked the Nabinagar-Chandra highway at 8am, leading to the closure of several factories, including Jeans Plus, Shamsher Knit, Young Socks Label, Kushiara Fashion, Euro Arte, and Sinha Denim, around 10am.
The Industrial Police-1 (Ashulia) reported that about 45 factories have been closed under Section 13(1) and an additional 25 factories have been closed for various reasons.