At least 60 people were injured as readymade garments (RMG) workers of hundreds of closed factories clashed with police at Savar and Gazipur while demonstrating in protest against the refusal of their owners to pay the proposed minimum wage of Tk 5,300 on Thursday. In Savar, hundreds of workers of Shams Style Limited of Standard Group located in Hemayetpur area started work abstention and staged demonstrations at around 9:00am on the day. They also brought out a procession, said SI Omar Faruk of Savar zone Industrial Police.
Soon after the incident, workers of Polo Garments, Babylon Fashion and Azib Fashion joined hands with the protesting workers and attacked the neighbouring Tibbat Garments.
At one stage, the authority of Tibbat Garments announced general holiday sensing massive vandalism and the workers also expressed solidarity with the protesting workers and joined them.
The agitated workers instantly put blockade on the Singair-Hemayetpur road and vandalized vehicles suspending all kinds of communication.
On information, huge contingent of police and industrial police rushed to the scene and charged batons to disperse the protesters but the workers countered the police assault pelting stones and brickbats on them triggering clashes leaving at least 30 people injured.
The police fired teargas canisters and managed to bring the situation under control. Mostafizur Rahman, director of Savar Industrial Zone police told The Independent, “Additional police forces were deployed to avert any untoward incident.”
The government-sponsored wage board headed by AK Ray has recommended a minimum monthly wage of Tk 5,300 for all garment factory workers. The factory owners have said they can’t pay more than Tk 4,500 for a worker per month.
The workers were earlier demanding a monthly wage of Tk 8,100 but now appeared to accept the wage board recommendations.
In Gazipur, readymade garments worker continued their protest demanding to fix their minimum wages at Tk 8,000 on Thursday. The angry worker observed strike, ransacked the glasses of factory and also clashed with police.
Police have fired several rounds of tear gas shells and rubber bullets to bring the situation under control.
Due to the workers’ unrest, the authorities of over 300 garments factories situated in Konabari, Jarun and Kashimpur area under Sadar Upazila in Gazipur announced their factories closed for Thursday.
Police and local sources said, workers of different factories in Konabari and Kashimpur area observed strike. At one stage, the workers went to different running factories and took the workers of those factories with them for demonstration.
Later the authority of most of the factories in the area again announced closure of their factories for the day, like previous two days. The angry workers also ransacked some factories in the area. But as the workers of Jamuna Group didn’t join the demonstration, the agitated workers tried to attack the factory but police obstructed them.
As police charged batons to bring the situation under control, the workers countered the police assault pelting stones and brickbats on them triggering clashes leaving at least 30 people, including three police injured.
At one stage police fired several rounds of tear gas shells and rubber bullets to bring the situation under control.
Inspector Nazrul Islam of Gazipur industrial police told The Independent, due to the unrest of garment workers in Konabari industrial zone, Kashimpur and Jarun areas, most of the factories remained closed for the last few days. On Thursday, some of the factories started functioning but due to workers’ unrest those factories were closed for the day.
But the authorities concerned of the Jamuna Group continued production in their factory guarded by police on Thursday.
-With The Independent input
