Workers of Alif Casual Ltd in Gazipur blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for around 45 minutes on Monday, demanding payment of their pending wages.
From 8am to 8:45am, the workers staged a demonstration by occupying the highway at the Columbia intersection in Basan under Gazipur Metropolitan’s Basan police station area.
Workers, seeking anonymity, said the factory authorities had not paid their wages since July.
"September is already underway, but we haven’t received our August wages either. We had requested time from our landlords, our children’s schools, and private tutors to clear dues, but since the factory did not pay us, we have been unable to pay them,” one worker said.
The workers further said the factory owners did not pay wages for July, but instead declared general holidays from August 28 to September 4, and again for two days on Saturday and Sunday. When workers returned to the factory on Monday, they refused to join work and began protesting on the highway, demanding arrears.
Gazipur Industrial Police (Basan zone) Inspector Farukul Alam said the highway was cleared around 8:45am after industrial police convinced the workers to leave. Vehicular movement then returned to normal. Discussions between the workers and the authorities are currently being held inside the factory, he added.
Attempts to reach Alif Casual Ltd officials for comment were unsuccessful.
