Apparel workers continued agitation to press home their demand for a minimum monthly wage of Tk 8,100 for the fourth consecutive day in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Tangail, ignoring the government’s call for joining their works. The government held a tripartite meeting with factory owners and workers on Monday night and after the meeting shipping minister Shahjahan Khan on behalf of the government called on the agitating workers to join their works without reaching any specific decision.
Unrest in garment factories flared up four days ago with the demand for minimum wage of Tk 8,100 while the factory owners’ association agreed to pay only Tk 3,600 that added fuel to the agitation and the government branded the stances of both the sides wrong.
Violence spilled to Tangail on Tuesday as the agitating workers clashed with police at Hatubhanga and Gorai area of the district, leaving at least 35 people including a newsman inured.
Locals said the agitating workers of different apparel units assembled and went out on demonstration blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway. As police tried to remove them from the highway, they clashed with them.
At one stage, police fired tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the agitating workers.
Mir Anwar Hossain Tutul, Mirzapur correspondent of the daily Ittefaq and Mohona Television, received bullet injuries while covering the demonstration.
Mirzapur police officer-in-charge, Golam Mostafa, said they could restore normalcy in the area and additional law enforcers had been deployed to avoid further violence.
In Dhaka, several hundred apparel workers from Euro Zone, Mohammadia Classic, Sinha Fabrics and James Fashion assembled beneath Kuril flyover and blocked the road and began vandalising vehicles at around 8:30am.
They also threw stones on Sinha Fabrics and vandalised the windowpanes of its factory.
Traffic on the road remained suspended for more than an hour as the workers’ blockade continued till 10am and normalcy could be restored at around 10:45am after the agitating workers were chased away, said Bhatara police officer-in-charge Mohammad Ali.
At Tejgaon Industrial area, agitating workers and police chased each other.
Tejgaon Industrial police officer-in-charge Mohammad Moniruzzaman said hundreds of apparel workers came down to the road at around 11:30am and tried to block the road. Police had to fire rubbers bullets to disperse the unruly workers, he said.
Reports from Ashulia said a number of apparel units in the area were shut down for Tuesday after workers of factories between Zirabo and Bishmail went out on demonstration. As they tried to take position at Zirabo bust
stop, police dispersed them charging baton.
New Age correspondent in Narayanganj said workers at apparel units at Fatulla area skipped work and blocked the Dhaka-Narayanganj road for two hours and attacked several factories and vandalized a motorbike and a battery-run rickshaw at Shibu market area.
The blockade crated long tailback of vehicles on both sides from the spot.
As Fatulla, police and industrial police tried to remove the agitating workers from the road but the workers demanded assurance from the labour leaders that their demands would be met.
Afterwards, Fatulla police officer-in-charge Md Akter Hossain along with labour leader MA Shahin assured the workers theu would sit with factory owners for talks to meet their demands.
On that assurance, the demonstrators withdrew the road blockade but did not return to works.
-With New Age input
