As many as 22 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) have been deployed in Gazipur to control the agitations and protests by garment workers demanding a salary increase.
Demonstrations were reported in certain areas during the morning hours on Wednesday.
BGB Lt Col Rafiqul Islam confirmed the deployment of 22 platoons along with reserve forces in Gazipur.
Workers had been holding demonstrations for around two weeks demanding their minimum wage be set at Tk23,000. The government on Tuesday announced that the new minimum wage would be Tk12,500, a figure workers’ unions would reject.
Dissatisfied with the decision, the garment workers staged protests, vandalized property, and set fires to vehicles in the Konabari and Zarun areas of Gazipur city on Wednesday morning.
The police used tear gas and sound grenades to control the situation.
Subsequently, the workers retaliated by throwing bricks at the police, resulting in injuries to several workers.
The injured individuals, including Jalal Uddin, Manik, Sagar Hossain, and Ala-Amin, are receiving treatment at Konabari Popular Hospital and Konabari Clinic, where a seriously injured female worker was transferred to Gazipur Shaheed Tajuddin Ahmad Medical College Hospital due to her critical condition.
Protesting workers claimed that the police attacked their peaceful movement, demanding a salary increase. Several individuals, including a female colleague, sustained injuries during the altercation.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, a female garment worker died while another sustained injuries in a clash between employees protesting for a pay raise and the police in Gazipur on Wednesday morning.
Assistant Commissioner of Gazipur Metropolitan Police (GMP) Konabari Zone Asaduzzaman said: “There was a confrontation between the police and factory workers in the morning. Law enforcement dispersed the crowd by using tear gas and sound grenades. The situation has since returned to normal.”
