At least 30 people, including workers and police personnel, were injured in clashes between garment workers and police in Gazipur as workers took to the streets demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000.
Industrial police arrested seven people on charges of sabotage.
The clashes and chases took place in the Bhogra, Naojor, Mouchak and Palli Bidyut areas from around 9:30am until noon on Tuesday.
According to workers and industrial police, employees of Panasia Limited in Naojor came out of the factory around 9:30am and gathered on the western side of the Dhaka-Tangail Highway flyover. They later blocked the highway, bringing traffic to a standstill on both sides.
At the same time, workers of Bay Footwear in Konabari, Purvani in Mouchak, and Logos Apparels and ATS Apparels in Telichala stopped work and joined the protests, taking positions on the highway.
Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel, led by Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Deputy Commissioner (Crime and Operations) Mohammad Belayet Hossain, later fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse the protesters. Traffic resumed after the situation came under control.
Meanwhile, workers from several factories blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in the Bhogra area around 9:30am, setting tyres on fire.
Industrial police, BGB, district police and metropolitan police personnel rushed to the scene and tried to defuse the situation through negotiations. However, protesters suddenly pelted police with bricks and stones, injuring several officers.
Police later fired tear gas shells and charged batons to disperse the protesters.
Since Saturday, garment workers in several areas of Gazipur, including Chandra, Palli Bidyut, Mouchak, Safipur and Konabari in Kaliakair, have been staging demonstrations and blocking highways to press their demand for higher wages.
The protests have also seen incidents of vehicle vandalism and arson attacks on police boxes and vehicles. Several people, including police personnel and journalists, have been injured, while a factory warehouse was also set on fire.
Additional law enforcement personnel have been deployed at key points across the industrial zones to maintain order.
Police have filed three cases with Konabari, Basan and Kaliakair Police Stations over the incidents, implicating several thousand workers. Several people have also been arrested on allegations of participating in and instigating the unrest.
Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Amzad Hossain said at least 60 factories had announced closures for the day after 11am amid the labour unrest.
He said the seven people arrested on charges of sabotage were not factory workers.
The protests disrupted traffic on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway from 9:30am and the Dhaka-Tangail Highway from 11:00am, causing severe suffering to commuters.
Traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail Highway returned to normal around 11:30am after protesters were cleared from the road. On the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway, traffic resumed around 12:30pm following a three-hour disruption.
Amzad said police had arrested seven people in connection with the unrest.
He added that earlier, around 7:45am, a group of workers had attempted to block the Dhaka-Tangail Highway in the Mouchak area of Kaliakair. Law enforcement personnel intervened and persuaded them to leave without any confrontation.
Around the same time, workers also attempted to block the highway at Palli Bidyut intersection in Kaliakair. Police and BGB personnel rushed to the spot and cleared the road.
GMP Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Belayet Hossain said he had visited several points along the highways since morning to speak with the workers.
"I went to Naojor, where garment workers had gathered. I spoke to them, and they left after the discussion. Workers have staged protests on various occasions, but this time the pattern is somewhat different. Everything seemed to be going smoothly when suddenly stones started being thrown. Someone is trying to exploit the situation to create an issue," he said.
He added that barricades erected in the Naojor and Bhogra bypass areas had been removed.