Police, garment workers clash twice in Gazipur
Photo: Agamir Somoy
Tension and road blockades erupted twice in a single day by garment workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000 in Kaliakair, Gazipur.
Additional Superintendent of Police of Kaliakair Circle Mohammad Shafiqul Islam and Kaliakair Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahidul Islam confirmed the matter.
On Thursday morning, workers staged a demonstration and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Mouchak area of the upazila. Although the situation was brought under control later, they took to the streets once again in the Harinhati and Palli Bidyut areas in the afternoon.
Around 2 pm, after the lunch break, workers did not join work at the factories and instead gathered beside the Dhaka-Tangail highway. At one stage, they dumped bags of trash on the road, bringing vehicle movement to a halt.
Workers hurled brickbats targeting a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) vehicle in the Palli Bidyut area, causing the vehicle to be vandalized. When police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to control the situation, the workers dispersed.
However, some threw brickbats targeting police. Tension spread across the area during the chase and counter-chase that lasted for about one hour before vehicle movement on the highway became normal.
The workers demanded that the minimum monthly wage be set at Tk 30,000 in line with market prices. For several days, they have been observing programs such as work abstentions, demonstrations, and road blockades in various industrial factories across the upazila.
Due to worker unrest, holidays were declared in several factories in Kaliakair. In addition, authorities declared nine garment factories closed in the Konabari area of Gazipur.
