Garment workers demanding overdue salaries, Eid bonuses, and other payments clashed with police on Tuesday as they attempted to march towards the Secretariat from the Labour Building.
The protest, ongoing for three consecutive days, escalated into a confrontation when security forces intervened to block their path.
The workers, who had gathered in front of the Labour Building at 10am, began their march around 10:45am. Initially, police attempted to stop them at Bijoynagar, but the demonstrators pushed forward.
The situation intensified at Topkhana Road around 11:15am when police formed a blockade, leading to resistance from the workers. In response to police efforts to disperse them, the protesters retaliated by throwing bricks and stones, triggering a violent exchange.
Amid the clashes, an enraged group of workers vandalized a police vehicle.
To control the unrest, law enforcement fired sound grenades and tear gas, causing panic and forcing the workers to scatter.
However, they later regrouped and resumed their sit-in protest in front of the Labour Building.
Ruhul Amin, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Union, said that the protests would continue until their demands were met. He warned that if salaries and bonuses were not paid before Eid, workers would lay siege to the Chief Advisor’s office on the day of the festival.
Workers from multiple factories, including TNZ Apparels, Apparel Plus Eco Limited, Roar Fashion, Style Craft Garments, and Dird Composite Textile Limited, participated in the demonstration.
