After several days of tension and unrest, normalcy has largely returned to garment factories in Savar and Ashulia, with workers resuming duties at most factories on Sunday morning.
A visit to several industrial areas in Savar and Ashulia found workers arriving at their workplaces on time, with machinery running and production underway.
However, law enforcement agencies remain on alert to prevent further unrest. Additional police and other security personnel have been deployed at key locations and outside factories.
Despite the overall improvement, production remains suspended at some factories in Ashulia.
According to Industrial Police, more than 50 factories across the industrial zone remain closed due to worker unrest, while workers at five other factories have reported for duty but have yet to begin work. The remaining factories are operating normally.
Speaking on Sunday morning, Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of Industrial Police-1, said the situation in Savar, Ashulia and Dhamrai, which fall under the unit's jurisdiction, was stable, with factory operations running normally.
He said factory owners had kept more than 50 factories closed for various reasons. Apart from the five factories where workers had not started work, operations were continuing as usual elsewhere. No incidents of unrest had been reported, he added.
There are around 800 garment factories in the area, of which more than 50 remain closed, he said, adding that factory owners and other stakeholders shared the goal of maintaining stability in the garment sector.
Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, also said the situation had returned to normal on Sunday morning.
“Factories that were previously closed remain shut, but otherwise, the situation is stable. Workers have returned to their jobs,” he said.
He added that operations had been suspended under the “no work, no pay” principle at nearly 50 factories where production had stopped, or workers had reported for duty but had not started working. The suspensions were imposed under Section 13(1) of the Labour Act, he said.
