529 RMG factories shut amid wage unrest
The ready-made garment (RMG) sector, a major source of the country’s export earnings and employment, is facing fresh disruption as labour unrest spread across key industrial areas on Sunday, forcing 529 factories to suspend operations and leaving nearly one million workers without work.
The scale of the closures has raised concerns over production and the country’s export performance, as workers continued demonstrations demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000.
According to an industrial-area summary, a total of 987,190 workers were affected by the shutdowns across three industrial zones.
The government has taken steps to ease the tension, with Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury announcing the formation of a six-member wage board to review the sector’s minimum wage structure.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman also held an emergency meeting on the situation, even as protests continued and turned violent in parts of Dhaka and Gazipur.
The industrial-area summary for Sunday covers the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) area, Gazipur and Mymensingh, and Savar-Ashulia and Zirabo.
Gazipur and Mymensingh recorded the highest number of closures, with 276 of the area’s 836 factories shut, leaving 645,360 workers without work.
In Savar-Ashulia and Zirabo, 185 of 441 factories were affected, involving 290,205 workers.
In the DMP area, 68 of 320 factories in Mirpur were affected, with 51,625 workers unable to join work.
The summary also covers 197 factories in Narayanganj and 340 in Chattogram, but reported no closures or worker walkouts in those areas.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Mahmud Hasan Khan Babu confirmed the disruption.
“As of Sunday, 529 factories could not continue production because workers did not join work,” he told the media.
He expressed hope that the situation would improve following the formation of the wage board, saying, “we hope that normal production activities will resume from tomorrow.”
Wage board and government response
Garment workers have staged repeated demonstrations and road blockades in different industrial areas since mid-October, pressing for a Tk30,000 monthly minimum wage, payment of outstanding wages and other benefits.
On October 31, Minister Ariful Haque said the wage board would be announced the following day.
He said representatives of factory owners and workers had agreed to its formation and urged workers to return to their workplaces and resolve their demands through discussion.
The current minimum monthly wage for garment workers is Tk12,500. Under an amendment to the labour law, wages must be reviewed every three years, with the next review due in December 2026.
Arrests and allegations of infiltration
Police arrested more than 40 people in Dhaka and Gazipur in connection with the unrest. They alleged that some of those detained were activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliated organisations who had joined the protests to incite violence and carry out acts of sabotage.
Mohammad Rakib Khan, Deputy Commissioner of the Detective Branch (DB) Mirpur Division, said 11 leaders and activists of the Awami League, Jubo League and Chhatra League had been arrested on charges of mingling with protesting workers and attempting arson and vandalism in Mirpur.
He said the detainees were grassroots-level activists from different districts, including Barishal, Patuakhali, Cox’s Bazar and Gaibandha. Two were identified as Rakib and Arif, while the others were not named.
Rakib Khan also claimed that police had information that Alif Mollah, nephew of former Dhaka-16 MP Elias Uddin Mollah, had brought activists to the capital from different districts.
More than 100 activists were reportedly present during the alleged acts of sabotage, he added.
Abu Naser Rikabdar, another Deputy Commissioner of the Mirpur Division, said 17 more people had been detained. He claimed they were preparing to hold a procession in support of the banned Awami League after the alleged acts of sabotage.
Meanwhile, Rashed Khan, political assistant to the Prime Minister with the rank of secretary, said in a verified Facebook post that Awami League and Chhatra League activists had joined the protests posing as garment workers.
He alleged that Sajbul Islam, organising secretary of the Jagannath University unit of Chhatra League, was leading what he described as the “so-called” workers’ movement in Mirpur.
Rashed Khan also claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami and the NCP had earlier instigated the movement, while people posing as garment workers had set fire to a police vehicle beneath a metro station and vandalised a police box.
None of these allegations could be independently verified.
Situation in industrial areas
Ashulia: The situation remained largely calm in the morning but began to deteriorate around noon as workers from several factories took to the streets.
An additional superintendent of police at Ashulia Industrial Police-1, speaking on condition of anonymity, said more than 100 factories, including those belonging to Alliance Group, Ratul Group and Pretty Group, had declared holidays and suspended operations.
Around 10:45am, workers gathered on the Abdullahpur-Baipail road in front of a Sharmin Group factory in Narsinghpur, chanting slogans demanding higher wages and other benefits.
Industrial police asked them to clear the road, and they complied before urging employees of Sharmin Group to join the demonstrations.
The official said Zirabo and other parts of Savar had returned to normal, although workers were still demonstrating near the Hemayetpur bus stand.
Gazipur: Workers staged demonstrations and blockades at Palli Bidyut, Konabari, Bhogra and Naojor, disrupting traffic and causing considerable hardship for commuters.
From the morning, they blocked sections of the Dhaka-Tangail Highway, including Safipur Bazar, Chandra Palli Bidyut, Mouchak and Telichala in Kaliakair upazila. Some protesters set fire to tree logs and tyres.
Clashes and chases between workers and police continued at several locations, prompting police to fire tear gas and sound grenades. Authorities announced the closure of most garment factories along the stretch from Chandra Palli Bidyut to Konabari to prevent further violence.
Mirpur: Mahfuzul Haque Bakshi, Assistant Commissioner of the Mirpur Traffic Division, said several hundred workers had been on the streets in Mirpur-10, Mirpur-11 and Mirpur-12 since 9:00am.
Clashes broke out around 11:45am when police moved to clear the area around Mirpur-10. Police fired tear gas and used batons, while protesters threw brick chips. A police vehicle was set on fire, prompting two Fire Service units to rush to Mirpur-11 to extinguish the blaze.
Industrial Bangladesh Council General Secretary Salahuddin Shapon said the workers’ demands were legitimate and that they were exercising their rights. However, he suspected that outsiders were involved in the vandalism.
He urged the authorities to distinguish peaceful workers from those involved in destructive activities and called for dialogue among the government, factory owners and labour representatives to resolve the crisis.
