Workers of three garment factories in Savar and Gazipur went on the rampage on Monday, demanding wages under new wage scales and payment of festival allowance and protesting at reduction in overtime allowance.
Workers also blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur for about an hour.
At least 16 workers were injured as the police charged baton to disperse the agitating workers.
New Age Savar correspondent reports: At least 2,400 workers of a sweater factory at Kolma demonstrated at the factory over seven-point demand including implementation of the new wage structure and immediate payment of festival allowance.
The agitated workers vandalised the factory. At least 10 people, including three of the factory officials, were injured. The injured officials are administration officers Kaysar Ahamad, Iqbal Ahmed and Ahsan Ullah.
The police and factory sources said the workers of Hot Dress Sweaters Limited started the demonstration in the morning.
The workers said the factory authorities paid their salaries on Sunday as per the old wage structure.
They also claimed that the authorities gave them the slip for house rent and bus fair without paying the bills.
They also demanded immediate payment of the festival allowance for Eid-ul-Azha.
The administration officer of the factory, Jahangir Alam, however, told New Age that the workers’ demands were illogical.
Officer-in-charge of the Savar police station Mahbubur Rahman said the workers vandalised valuables of the factory but now the situation was under control.
He said the factory authorities filed a case against 150 workers, 12 of whom were named, for vandalising the factory.
Additional police forces were deployed in the area to avoid any incident.
New Age Gazipur correspondent reports: Garments workers ransacked factory and vehicles and blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for about an hour at Vogra under sadar upaizla on Monday.
The police and spot accounts said the workers of Tex-Euro (BD) Ltd started strike Monday morning, demanding wages under the new structure and immediate payment of festival allowance and protesting at reduction in overtime allowance.
As the factory authorities paid no heed, the workers at one stage started ransacking the 3rd and 4th floor of the factory. They also destroyed the CC TV camera and 11 vehicles.
Later, they took to the adjacent Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and damaged the glasses of some vehicles and blocked the highway, causing tailbacks on the highway.
The workers withdrew the blockade and joined their work after the authorities assured them of meeting their demands.
Additional police and RAB forces were deployed in the area.
In another incident, workers vandalised Hechaung Sweater factory at Kaliakoir in Gazipur, demanding expulsion of five officials, accused of harassing workers.
Six workers were injured as a faction of workers clashed with the agitating workers.
The police, however, could bring the situation under control after about two hours.
The factory administration officer, Nazmul Alam, said the issue would be resolved through negotiation with the workers.
