Over 100 factories shut in Ashulia
More than 100 garment factories in Ashulia declared a general holiday on Thursday as workers staged fresh protests demanding clarity over an upcoming wage increase, disrupting traffic on the Abdullahpur-Baipail road.
Against this backdrop, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has deployed 33 platoons across Dhaka and nearby industrial areas to maintain law and order and ensure the security of garment factories and other industrial establishments.
Workers at several factories in Ashulia started protesting on Thursday morning after punching their attendance cards around 8am.
They later gathered outside nearby factories and urged other workers to leave their workplaces, prompting authorities to declare a general holiday at more than 100 factories.
The protesters later took positions on the Abdullahpur-Baipail road, disrupting traffic.
Police cleared them from several points, after which workers moved to different feeder roads.
The workers said the wage board had announced that wages would be increased in December but had yet to specify the amount of the hike.
Uncertainty over the proposed increase has prompted them to continue their movement.
However, some workers across Bangladesh largely returned to work on Thursday following days of protests over wages, although some factories remained closed and sporadic demonstrations continued in several industrial areas.
The development came after the government’s wage board agreed on Wednesday to raise the minimum wage in the country’s key export-oriented sector, which accounts for around four-fifths of Bangladesh’s export earnings, worth up to $38 billion.
Gazi Jasim Uddin, head of the police unit for industrial zones, said protests had declined significantly compared with previous days.
“More than 95 percent of garment factories in Narayanganj have resumed operations,” he told AFP.
However, isolated protests were reported in Gazipur and Ashulia, two major industrial areas near Dhaka.
“Workers in Ashulia went to factories and started coming out an hour later,” Uddin said. “In Gazipur, protesters tried to occupy the highway.”
Garment workers have been demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, a 140 percent increase from the existing Tk12,500.
The government formed a wage board comprising representatives of employers and workers on Sunday to negotiate the proposed pay increase.
On Wednesday, before the wage board announced its decision, tens of thousands of workers marched through industrial areas.
Some protesters allegedly hurled bricks, set fire to police vehicles and erected barricades, prompting police to fire tear gas to disperse the crowds.
Monowara, 35, a garment worker in Gazipur, said large numbers of police personnel were still patrolling the area.
She said she had been ready to return to work, but her factory authorities had informed workers that the facility would remain closed until Sunday.
Meanwhile, the situation in Savar’s industrial areas remained largely calm on Thursday morning, a day after workers blocked the Dhaka-Aricha highway and set fire to a police van and motorcycles.
Security has been tightened across the industrial belts to prevent further unrest. Police and BGB personnel have been deployed, while armoured police vehicles have been kept ready at key points.
BGB has stationed three platoons in Mirpur, 11 in Savar and Ashulia, 12 in Gazipur and seven in Narayanganj.
Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) and Riot Control Vehicles (RCVs) have also been deployed to deal with potential unrest.
The force is using drones for live surveillance, while personnel on duty are equipped with body-worn and improvised body-worn cameras.
A monitoring cell at BGB headquarters is overseeing and coordinating the operations round the clock.
BGB personnel are working in coordination with the local administration and police to maintain law and order in the industrial areas.
Superintendent of Police of Industrial Police-1 Mominul Islam Bhuiyan said police were maintaining the highest level of vigilance to prevent further labour unrest.
