Amid ongoing protests in the readymade garment (RMG) sector, production in around 115 factories in Savar, Ashulia, and Gazipur was suspended on Thursday.
According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), by Thursday afternoon, 107 factories in the Ashulia and Savar areas and 8 in Gazipur had shut down.
"Of these, 75 factories were closed under Section 13 (1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, which means “no work, no pay,” while 44 were closed with pay or as a general holiday," explained Mohiuddin Rubel, a BGMEA director.
On Wednesday, RMG manufacturers had agreed to enforce Section 13 (1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act. This law allows factory owners to partially or fully close operations due to an "illegal" strike, with no wages paid to the striking workers.
The decision to implement this section came after factory owners agreed to some of the workers' demands on Monday night, including an additional attendance bonus of Tk225, a Tk10 tiffin allowance, and the end of blacklisting practices.
Despite these concessions, unrest continued, reportedly fueled by some local political groups.
By Wednesday, around 45 factories in Savar and Ashulia had been indefinitely closed, with 60 others declaring a general holiday.
Abdulla Hil Rakib, senior vice-president of the BGMEA, said that manufacturers had initially held off on enforcing Section 13 (1) to resolve the protests through negotiation. However, they felt it was now necessary to implement the section to create room for dialogue between workers and factory owners.
He added that some large factories had seen positive results after enforcing Section 13 (1), reopening and resuming normal operations following successful negotiations.
“We think if the manufacturers use this clause, they might get a result very soon. We tried our best to solve the problem by leaving the factory open, but that didn't work in the end,” he added.
On Tuesday, Mohiuddin Rubel told Dhaka Tribune that almost all the major demands of the workers were accepted in the joint meeting of Monday.
“So why then are the protests still happening today? Since it persists, it can definitely be assumed that conspirators fueled the protests,” he added.
He also said that a vested interest group is intentionally using workers to disrupt the industry which might be related with the jhut business and local politics etc.
“Labor movement has become common and there is usually a platform for wage increases and other specific demands. But this time the protest is different. They are appearing in different factories with different demands,” he added.
He also said that if one demand is accepted, they raise another, meaning that they want to keep the protest going anyway, so, the protest is fueled by outsiders.