Garment factory workers of Full Ever BD Ltd in Gazipur have blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway demanding arrears for one month, causing major traffic disruptions for commuters.
This protest has caused a 6km long traffic jam on both sides of the road, creating significant difficulties for passengers, drivers, and locals.
They have blocked the highway from 11am to 1pm on Wednesday.
The demonstrators said that on September 10, they protested for their one month's overdue wages.
The factory management did not pay them and instead posted a closure notice on September 12.
In the morning, they started protesting in front of the factory. At around 11am, they blocked the highway to continue their protest as the management ignored their demand for the overdue wage of one month.
One of the protesting workers said: "Workers of nearby factories have protested and had their demands fulfilled. Even though we have expressed our demands to the factory authorities, they have been indifferent. Therefore, we are protesting.”
The closure notice cites that the factory faced an illegal work stoppage by employees from August 3 to September 10, despite reaching an agreement on their demands through mediation. After resuming operations on September 12, workers initiated another strike. Attempts by Chairman Robert Hein and the industrial police to resolve the issue failed.
Later, under section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Law 2006, the factory was indefinitely closed, and striking workers were denied wages.
Gazipur Industrial police's assistant superintendent of police (Tongi zone) Mosharraf Hossain, said: “The workers of Full Ever BD Ltd factory had been protesting in front of the factory since morning, demanding a month's overdue pay. They moved to the road and continued their protest from 11am. They were persuaded and removed from the road around 1pm.”
