Banned organisation inciting garment workers, alleges Juba Dal leader Nayan

Mohammad Nurul Islam Nayan, central general secretary of the Jatiyatabadi Juba Dal, has alleged that members of a banned organisation are inciting workers to destabilise the garment sector. He made the allegation while answering journalists' questions at Joydebpur Chowrasta in Gazipur city on Tuesday (3 November) afternoon.

Nayan said a clandestine banned organisation is inciting workers to destabilise the garment sector in order to make the government fail. According to him, roads are being blocked, traffic jams are being created and people's movement is being obstructed. He said the Juba Dal is assisting the police and law-enforcement agencies so that people can move freely.

He added that although there are reports of workers vandalising garment factories and setting police vehicles on fire, the Juba Dal does not believe them. He claimed that clandestine and banned organisations exist in the country and that domestic and foreign conspiracies are also at play; someone is inciting the workers, and the banned organisations are hatching this conspiracy to put the current government in difficulty.

In Nayan's words, workers who sit at sewing machines every day to earn their livelihood cannot vandalise garment factories, and workers cannot set fire to the vehicles of the police who provide people's security.

Gazipur City Corporation administrator and metropolitan BNP convener Shawkat Hossain Sarkar, along with a large number of Juba Dal leaders and activists, were present at the time.

Meanwhile, police in Gazipur on Tuesday fired tear shells and sound grenades to remove workers from the highway. Vehicle movement and the situation returned to normal from the afternoon.

From Tuesday morning, workers staged demonstrations and blockaded highways at various points in Gazipur by setting fire to wood, tyres and furniture. For the fifth day, they blockaded the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur demanding an increase in the minimum wage. Rubbish was set on fire at several points on the road, halting traffic. Agitated workers were obstructing journalists from taking photos and videos.

Amid the ongoing movement of garment workers in Gazipur over demands including a wage increase, the number of BGB personnel and executive magistrates deployed to maintain law and order has been raised. The BGB deployment has been increased from 10 platoons to 11 platoons on Tuesday. The number of executive magistrates has been raised from 21 to 25.

In Gazipur's Kaliakair, the municipality and upazila administration have issued a public notice warning house and flat owners to prevent outsiders from entering and possible sabotage centring on the workers' movement. Owners have been instructed to inform the police or administration if any outsider or member of a criminal gang is staying at a tenant's home.