At least two garment workers were injured in a clash with police in Ashulia, Savar, on Tuesday morning as workers took to the streets demanding higher wages.
The clash broke out around 10:30am on the Baipail-Abdullahpur road in the Jamgora area, triggering chases and counter-chases between workers and police.
Police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to bring the situation under control. Following the unrest, authorities declared holidays at 20 garment factories in the area.
According to police and local sources, most workers joined their respective factories at the scheduled time in the morning. However, workers at several factories stopped working and remained idle.
At one stage, workers blocked the road in Jamgora to press home their demand for higher wages. Tensions escalated when police tried to clear the blockade, leading to clashes and exchanges of brickbats between the two sides.
The injured workers were identified as Alamgir Hossain, 30, a finishing operator, and Razia Begum, 40, a sewing operator at Sterling Styles Limited.
Harun Or Rashid, operations manager of Ashulia Women and Children Hospital, said the two workers were taken to the hospital with injuries suspected to have been caused by rubber bullets.
"Razia Begum's injuries were serious, so she was referred to Dhaka Medical College Hospital. Alamgir received primary treatment and later left the hospital," he said.
However, police denied firing rubber bullets to disperse the protesters.
Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, said around noon that police had initially tried to persuade the workers to withdraw their blockade.
"When that failed, we used tear gas shells and sound grenades. No other weapons were used. If any workers were injured, they may have been hit by brickbats. No rubber bullets were fired," he said.
He added that authorities had declared holidays at around 20 factories in Ashulia amid the unrest.
Meanwhile, Khairul Mamun, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, called for building trust among workers to resolve the ongoing dispute.
He said workers' concerns over wage increases could have been largely addressed if factory owners had promptly submitted their proposals to the wage board.
"Many factory owners are threatening to shut down their factories if workers refuse to work and warning them of possible job losses. The situation can be resolved by creating an atmosphere of trust among workers," he said.