Garment workers again staged protests and blocked roads across industrial areas in Gazipur, Savar-Ashulia and Narayanganj on Monday, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, an end to worker blacklisting and a halt to layoffs.
The demonstrations triggered clashes with law enforcement agencies, vandalism and arson, leaving at least 10 people, including a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member, police personnel, journalists and BNP activists, injured. At least 264 factories in Savar and Ashulia declared general holidays amid fears of further unrest.
In Gazipur, thousands of workers gathered at Palli Bidyut in Safipur and Chandra intersection in Kaliakair early in the morning, blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway and bringing traffic to a standstill.
The blockade began around 8:30am, with workers from several factories occupying the highway. Police and BGB personnel later moved to clear the road, initially attempting to persuade the protesters to leave.
However, the situation turned violent when a section of workers hurled brickbats at law enforcers, seriously injuring a BGB member. Police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse the protesters.
Around noon, further clashes broke out in the Naojor area of Gazipur city, where protesters vandalised several police vehicles and set one on fire. Three journalists covering the incidents were also injured, while a camera belonging to Somoy TV was vandalised.
The journalists were Mehedi Hasan, Gazipur correspondent of Somoy TV, his cameraman, Reza Islam, a cameraman of SA TV, and Ifthekhar Raihan of Ekhon TV.
The blockade severely disrupted traffic along the Dhaka-Tangail highway, a key economic corridor connecting Dhaka with northern Bangladesh. After nearly five hours, traffic gradually returned to normal through the intervention of law enforcement agencies.
Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Amzad Hossain said more than 150 factories had declared general holidays to prevent further unrest.
He said district police, metropolitan police, industrial police and BGB personnel were jointly working to restore order, adding that the situation had gradually started to calm down.
Kaliakair Upazila Nirbahi Officer AHM Fakhrul Hossain said the administration was taking workers' demands seriously and coordinating with the relevant authorities to address their grievances. He urged all concerned to remain peaceful.
In Savar and Ashulia, workers took to the streets for the third consecutive day, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, an end to blacklisting and a halt to layoffs.
Protests spread across several locations, including Baroipara, Nischintapur, Baipail, Jirabo, Kathgara, Ghoshbag and Narsinghpur, disrupting factory operations and triggering repeated confrontations with police.
Workers at Newage Garments in Nischintapur stopped work and later gathered outside nearby factories. Demonstrations also broke out near Bengal Plastic Pipes Ltd on the Jirabo-Kathgara road and along the Abdullahpur-Baipail road.
Around 1pm, clashes erupted in Narsinghpur when police attempted to disperse workers staging a sit-in. Protesters hurled bricks and stones, prompting police to fire tear gas shells. The unrest also saw a covered van set on fire, while a police officer was injured in a separate clash near a Ha-Meem Group factory.
Police detained two people during the incidents.
Superintendent of Police of Industrial Police-1 Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan confirmed that 264 factories across the Savar-Ashulia industrial belt had declared general holidays.
He said additional police personnel had been deployed to prevent further incidents, adding that workers had left their workplaces amid the unrest and that operations at several factories had been suspended.
Meanwhile, garment workers blocked the Dhaka-Narayanganj Link Road in the Shibu Market area of Fatullah around 12:30pm, bringing traffic to a halt and leaving commuters stranded.
Thousands of workers from several factories, including Metro Knitting, Palmal Garments, Abir Fashion, Azad-Rifat Dyeing, Liberty and Midland, joined the demonstration, carrying sticks and chanting slogans.
Alongside the Tk30,000 minimum wage demand, the protesters called for an end to attacks on garment workers.
Md Shahin Ahmed, president of the district unit of the Garment Workers Trade Union, said the demonstration began in Shibu Market and later spread across several kilometres.
He said resentment over police attacks on garment workers in different parts of Dhaka had also contributed to the protests in Narayanganj, although workers there had remained largely peaceful in recent days.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Operations) Tarek Al Mehedi said police had been deployed to the area after receiving reports of the blockade and were trying to resolve the situation through discussions with workers.
On Sunday, garment workers also staged protests in Konabari, Safipur, Palli Bidyut and surrounding industrial areas in Gazipur, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. Intermittent clashes with police, vandalism and arson were reported, including the torching of a police box and damage to several vehicles. The unrest disrupted traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail highway for around six hours. Several journalists covering the demonstrations in the Chandra area were also reportedly assaulted, with their mobile phones snatched.
