Around 10,000 garment workers from three factories in Gazipur’s Konabari area went on strike on Tuesday, protesting layoffs and demanding increased attendance bonuses.
One of these factories has been shut down due to the protest, while a total of 14 garment factories in the area have announced closures over various worker demands.
The protests began at MM Knitwear Limited and Mamun Knitwear Limited, with workers launching a strike inside the factories around 9am.
By noon, factory management declared a general holiday, yet workers remained inside, continuing their demonstration.
Factories affected by the closures include MM Knitwear Limited in Konabari, Swadhin Garments Limited in Jarun, and Kasem Lands Factory in Bymile.
Workers initiated strikes after the midday break on November 3, pressing several demands.
While factory management initially agreed to some requests, employees resumed protests to secure full acceptance of their demands, leading to a holiday declaration on that day.
On November 4, the management invoked Section 13(1) of the 2006 Labour Act to announce an indefinite suspension of operations for safety concerns.
When operations resumed on November 10, a total of 68 workers from MM Knitwear Limited and 45 from Mamun Knitwear Limited were dismissed, allegedly for creating disruption with unreasonable demands.
Protesters claim management promised no layoffs but have since dismissed workers without fulfilling their commitment.
Manowar Hossain, MM Knitwear Limited’s administrative officer, said that dismissed workers were compensated according to labour laws.
He added that some workers protested, demanding reinstatement of those laid off.
Meanwhile, workers from Swadhin Garments in Jarun have been protesting for three days at the factory’s main gate, demanding overdue October wages.
Swadhin Garments’ manager Asaduzzaman attributed the delay to banking issues, assuring that wage disbursements would be made soon.
At Kasem Lands Factory in Konabari (Bymile), employees have been protesting for two days over a 10-point demand, including attendance bonuses, tiffin allowances, and night-shift payments.
Gazipur Industrial Police-2 Superintendent of Police Sarwar Alam confirmed that 14 factories in Gazipur were closed on Tuesday, while MM Knitwear Limited workers in Konabari continued their strike, demanding the reinstatement of retrenched workers.