Over 50 factories shut in Gazipur, seven closed indefinitely

Thousands of workers faced uncertainty on Sunday morning after arriving at their workplaces only to find closure notices posted at factory gates. While some workers waited for hours hoping to receive updates, others eventually returned home, fearing further disruption to their livelihoods.

A ground visit from 7AM to different industrial areas along the Dhaka-Tangail Highway, including Mouchak, Safipur, Konabari and Pallibidyut, revealed widespread factory closures.

Workers arriving for their morning shifts were turned away after finding notices announcing holidays. Several were also seen waiting outside factory premises for confirmation about whether production would resume.

In Pallibidyut area of Kaliakair, seven factories — including Apex Footwear, Apex Holdings, Ecotex, Divine, Safipur and Karni in the Ratanpur area — have displayed notices announcing indefinite closure from Sunday.

Workers at Apex Holdings in Pallibidyut, identified as Nazma, Sultana Khatun, Tuhin Sheikh and Arif, told Dhaka Post that they wanted to return to work as their livelihoods depended on daily employment.

"We come to the factory every day to work. If we cannot work, we cannot put food on the table. We want the factories to reopen and production to resume," they said.

They added that workers had joined the protests over wage demands and that, following the government's announcement of a wage increase, they now wanted to return to their jobs.

"But every day we arrive to find some new problem. This morning, we again found the factory closed, this time indefinitely.''

Gazipur has remained tense for several days amid road blockades, demonstrations and vandalism linked to workers' demands for higher wages.

To maintain law and order, authorities have deployed 25 platoons of police, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Ansar and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) across the district.

Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Mohammad Amjad Hossain said many factories remained closed due to recurring labour unrest, attacks on garment facilities and vandalism.

"Some factories have remained open, but production has not resumed. We have yet to receive official notices confirming exactly how many factories have announced indefinite closures from today. They may have made the announcements today," he said.

He added that many factory authorities had declared holidays early Sunday to avoid possible untoward incidents.

"No reports of workers' demonstrations have been received from anywhere today. Adequate law enforcement personnel have been deployed in key areas across the district to maintain security," he said.