Garment workers protest in Ashulia demanding Tk 30,000 minimum wage, at least 11 factories declare holiday; policeman injured by brickbats

Garment workers from several factories protested in Ashulia, Dhaka, on Saturday (31 October) demanding, among other things, a minimum wage of Tk 30,000 and an end to blacklisting. In the face of the unrest that began in the morning, at least 11 factories, including Naim Knitwear, in the Kathgora area of Ashulia and its surroundings declared a holiday.

Ashulia Industrial Police-1 Superintendent Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan confirmed the information at around 11 am on Saturday. He said a police member was injured by brickbats thrown by the protesting workers and is receiving treatment in hospital.

According to police sources, workers of Naim Knitwear first observed a work stoppage inside the factory in the morning. They later came out of the factory and began protesting.

At one stage, the protesting workers threw brickbats targeting several nearby factories. A chase and counter-chase then took place between the police and the workers.

A police member was injured by brickbats thrown by the workers during the incident, the superintendent said.

An official of a garment factory in the Kathgora Amtala area, speaking on condition of anonymity, said most factories in the area, except two or three including his own, had declared a holiday. They were also observing the situation and would take the next decision considering the circumstances, he said.

After the holidays were declared at the factories, police kept the situation in Kathgora and the surrounding areas under observation, according to the sources concerned.