Tensions flared in Ashulia as garment workers demanding unpaid wages blocked a key road, prompting 15 nearby factories to shut for the day.
On Thursday, at around 7am, workers began protesting in front of Nassa Group’s Nassa Basic Complex factory. During this time, traffic movement on the Tongi–Ashulia–EPZ road came to a halt. Police later arrived at the scene and brought the situation under control. At around 10:30am, workers vacated the road.
According to the Industrial Police, workers of Nassa Group started the protest in front of the factory in the morning. Soon after, a section of the protesting workers attempted to bring out workers from neighbouring factories. At that point, for security reasons, the authorities of at least 15 factories declared general holidays.
Workers said that before paying the arrears, the Nassa Group authorities had declared a four-day holiday from Sunday to Wednesday. Although the arrears were supposed to be paid on Thursday, the authorities instead hung a notice at the gate announcing another four-day general holiday. Upon seeing the notice extending the holiday, the workers began protesting.
The notice stated that due to unavoidable circumstances, the general holiday for all departments and sections of the factory (except those engaged in emergency work) has been extended from Thursday to Monday. All departments and sections of the factory will reopen as usual on Tuesday.
Regarding the matter, Superintendent of Police Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan of Industrial Police-1 said that in the face of workers’ protests, the authorities of 15 garment factories in the area declared general holidays for the day due to security concerns. The situation is now normal. Workers have been persuaded to leave the road, and traffic movement has returned to normal.
