Workers of MM Knitwear Limited and Mamun Knitwear Limited staged a protest on Monday morning, blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur's Konabari area, to demand the reopening of their factories, which have been declared closed indefinitely.
The blockade began around 9:30am, causing traffic to halt and resulting in long tailbacks on both sides of the highway.
The workers said the factories were shut down indefinitely on December 18 under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006.
On Sunday morning, they had gathered at the factory gates to protest but called off their demonstration after authorities agreed to hold discussions later in the day.
During the talks, the factory management proposed conditional reopening, which the workers rejected.
On Monday, the workers resumed their agitation, demanding an unconditional reopening of the factories and the withdrawal of legal cases filed against them.
The protests follow an earlier incident on November 3, during which an Industrial Police member was injured, prompting authorities to file a case against five named workers and 50-60 unidentified individuals.
On December 17, the workers stopped work in protest, demanding the withdrawal of the case. Subsequently, the factory authorities announced an indefinite closure citing safety concerns.
Gazipur Industrial Police-2 Superintendent of Police (SP) Mizanur Rahman said: “Workers of the two factories have blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway demanding the reopening of their workplaces. Efforts are underway to hold discussions with the workers to resolve the issue. Members of the Industrial Police and Gazipur Metropolitan Police’s Konabari police station are present on the spot to maintain order.”
