Garment workers continue demos in Uttara, Gazipur

Garment workers intensified their protests in Dhaka and Gazipur on Thursday, blocking major highways for the third consecutive day to demand a minimum monthly salary of Tk 30,000 and payment of outstanding wages. Police used water cannon and sound grenades to disperse protesters at different locations.

In Dhaka’s Uttara, workers from several garment factories blocked the road in the Azampur-Rajlakshmi area around 9:15am, bringing traffic on the airport-Abdullahpur stretch to a standstill.

The blockade caused severe congestion on both sides of the road and in surrounding areas, leaving commuters, passengers and pedestrians struggling in the intense heat. Many passengers, unable to find buses after long waits, walked to their destinations.

Police use water cannon, labour unrest disrupt traffic in the capital 

The workers cleared the road around noon following police intervention, said Mabian Mia, assistant commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Traffic Uttara West Zone.

“We have persuaded the workers to clear the road. Despite this, the important road was blocked for a long time, resulting in heavy traffic jams,” he said. 

Traffic resumed on both sides after the blockade was lifted, but movement remained slow as vehicles struggled to clear the accumulated congestion, he added.

Law enforcers said three consecutive days of protests had severely disrupted traffic on the highway.

The workers warned that they would continue their blockades unless their demands were met. Besides a minimum monthly salary of Tk 30,000, they are demanding payment of outstanding wages.

They said their current earnings were insufficient to cover daily expenses amid high prices of essential commodities. Despite repeatedly drawing the authorities’ attention to their plight, they alleged, no solution had been found, leaving them with little choice but to take to the streets.

Uttara West Police Station chief Khalid Mansur said the authorities concerned had been informed about the workers’ demands.

“The road is now clear after the workers moved away. But because of these repeated blockades, the public has to suffer every day,” he said.

Protest in Gazipur
Meanwhile, police used sound grenades to disperse garment workers who blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in Gazipur’s Sreepur over unpaid wages.

Workers of C Stage BD Limited took to the highway in the MC Bazar area of Mulaid village around 8:30am, said Mohammad Amjad Hossain, superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police-2.

The protesters said the factory authorities had failed to pay their September wages despite promising to clear the arrears by October 13.

Workers Tariqul, Mafuz and Hasmat Ali said they had staged a demonstration on October 10 over the unpaid wages. As the promised payment did not materialise, they renewed their protest on Thursday.

The factory also declared a holiday for the day.

The blockade caused long tailbacks in both directions, prompting industrial police to intervene. Officers asked the workers to clear the highway and offered to discuss their demands with the factory owners.

When the protesters refused to leave, police used several sound grenades to disperse them. Traffic resumed about an hour after the blockade began, Amjad said.

“We offered to discuss the matter with the owners and requested them to move away from the highway. But they did not respond and continued to block it. So we used a few sound grenades to clear the road,” he said.

Amjad said a decision on the outstanding wages would be made after discussions with the factory owners.

He also rejected allegations that machinery had been removed from the factory, saying the claim was untrue.