N'ganj roadblock: Traffic chaos ensues amid workers protest

Narayanganj Correspondent :

Workers of RN Knit Textile Limited staged a protest by blocking the Dhaka-Narayanganj old road in front of the District Police Lines in Fatullah, Narayanganj, on Monday (January 20) around noon.

The protest, which called for the fulfillment of 12 demands, caused significant traffic congestion, leaving commuters in distress. Later in the afternoon, the workers called off the blockade after the factory management agreed to meet their demands. They announced they would return to work starting Tuesday.

Earlier, on Sunday, the workers had blocked the road in front of the BKMEA building in Chashara, Narayanganj, for the same demands.

Confirming the incident, Selim Badsha, Inspector (Intelligence) of Narayanganj Industrial Police, said, “The workers had blocked the road to protest their termination and press their 12-point demands. The issue has been resolved following discussions between the Industrial Police, district administration, district police, factory management, and workers. The management has agreed to their demands, and the workers have returned to work.”

The negotiation meeting was attended by Senior ASP of Industrial Police, Sadik Rahman, representatives of the factory management, labor leader Nayeem Khan Biplob, and the protesting workers. The workers’ 12-point demands include: An annual increment of 9 percent for all workers, payment of annual earned leave money to all workers (both production and salary), salary should be paid within 7 working days, attendance bonus of 500 taka for both production and salary workers, implementation of the minimum salary of 12,500 taka as announced by the government, service benefits for production and salary workers according to labor law if they resign, maternity leave according to the self-employed labor law, double overtime wages for production workers who work after 6 pm, attendance should be paid equal to the basic salary if there is no work, a night allowance of 60 taka for all workers, eid bonuses equal to two basic salaries for two Eids, as per labor law, immediate removal of Production Manager (PM) Ripon and third-floor sewing in-charge Ashiq from their positions, no tolerance for harassment by police, including foreign terrorists.

Following the agreement, the workers returned to their jobs, and normal activities resumed.