Several hundred workers of Adamjee Export Processing Zone’s (EPZ) Beka Garments and Textiles blocked the Shimrail-Adamji Road on Saturday demanding payment of their arrears.
As a result, the traffic on the road remained halted for an hour from 11am, causing suffering for the commuters.
Later, members of the Industrial Police and Siddhirganj police station fired water cannons and charged batons to disperse the workers.
According to police and labor sources, about 800 to 900 workers work at Beka Garments and Textiles in the Adamjee EPZ area of Siddhirganj. Some of the workers were owed two months’ worth of allowances while some were owed three.
The factory authorities did not pay the salaries even though they were supposed to be cleared on April 18.
The workers thus blocked the roads and began protests after receiving no assurances from the authorities regarding their allowances in the morning.
The protesting workers said that they would be verbally abused and threatened with being fired if they inquired about payments. They were concerned about facing their families with Eid-ul-Fitr coming up in a few weeks.
Worker Rani Akhter Asked: “I have not been paid for three months and I have somehow passed the month of Ramadan so far but the landlord is pushing for rent. How am I supposed to go home on Eid and financially help my parents?”
Worker Mohsin said his children wanted new clothes for Eid. For the last two months, he had to borrow money to provide food for his family. “We are compelled to protest,” he added.
Worker Moktar Hossain, who was injured in the police’s baton charge in protest, asked why the workers had to protest every Eid to make the authorities understand that they could not go on without money.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA) GM Mohammad Ahsan Kabir could not be reached after being contacted several times.
Officer-in-charge (OC) of Siddhirganj police station Mashiur Rahman said: "We are trying to contact the owners of Beka Garments and Textiles as they have not yet paid the workers after assuring us they would do so last week.”
Narayanganj Industrial Police (Region 4) Superintendent Asaduzzaman said the workers had to be removed from the road due to excessive traffic and additional police have been deployed in the EPZ to prevent chaos.
He added that they were trying to contact the factory authorities to settle the matter.
