Garment Workers' Movement Enters Fourth Day: At Least 45 Injured in Clashes and Blockades, 306 Factories on Holiday
The ongoing movement of garment workers, pressing demands including a wage increase, entered its fourth day on Tuesday (3 November). On the day, protests, road blockades and clashes with police took place in Mirpur in the capital and in various areas of Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj. At least 45 people were injured in these incidents. Traffic was halted for hours in some places, while law enforcement had to use tear gas and sound grenades to bring the situation under control elsewhere.
Because of the movement, holidays were declared at 306 garment factories in the industrial areas. According to BGMEA figures, the work of 694,793 workers has been disrupted. Meanwhile, 12 platoons of BGB have been deployed in Gazipur and Narayanganj.
The workers' main demand is a monthly minimum wage of 30,000 taka. They are also demanding an end to blacklisting and guarantees of workers' rights and the working environment. In December 2023, the minimum wage was raised from 8,000 taka to 12,500 taka. The workers say the current wage is not consistent with the cost of living.
The movement began at various factories in Mirpur but later spread to Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj. On Thursday, after two rounds of road blockades lasting about six hours in Mirpur, the workers withdrew and traffic returned to normal. On Saturday, work stoppages and protests inside factories spread onto the roads. On Sunday, vehicle vandalism and arson were reported in various areas. On Monday, police dispersed protesters in several areas of Mirpur. On Tuesday, clashes and blockades again took place in several industrial areas.
From Tuesday morning, workers took positions on roads at various points in Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur. Traffic on the Dhaka-Aricha, Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways was disrupted. When the Dhaka-Aricha highway was blocked at Hemayetpur in Savar, long queues of vehicles formed on both sides. The blockade, which began at noon, continued until 5:40 pm. The workers then withdrew the programme considering the passengers' suffering, and traffic gradually returned to normal.
Working people, students and long-distance passengers were stuck in the blockades. Many were seen getting off buses and walking to their destinations. Ambulances were also caught in the congestion, and passengers travelling by alternative routes had to spend extra time and money.
In Mirpur in the capital, clashes broke out between protesting workers and police. At around 10:30 am, chases, counter-chases and brick-throwing began below the Mirpur-11 metro rail station. Four police members were injured. The clashes also briefly disrupted metro rail services; for security reasons, trains were not stopped at Mirpur-10 station for about two hours.
Earlier, at around 11 am, a police member was surrounded and beaten on Kalshi Road. The injured constable, Md Simon, was rescued and taken to Rajarbagh Police Hospital. Pallabi police station said five people had been arrested over the incident.
In Gazipur, from 9:30 am to noon on Tuesday, clashes and chases between workers and police took place in the Naojore, Bhogra, Mouchak and Palli Bidyut areas. At least 30 people were injured. Workers of Panacea Limited at Naojore took positions on the Dhaka-Tangail highway. At the same time, workers of Bay Footwear in Konabari, Purbani in Mouchak, and Logos Apparels and ATS Apparels in Telichala joined the protest. Police and BGB fired tear gas shells and sound grenades to control the situation. Gazipur Industrial Police superintendent Amjad Hossain said seven people had been arrested over the incident.
Amjad Hossain said holidays were first declared at 15 factories in Gazipur and later at 45 more. At least 150 factories in the district were closed the previous day as well. Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, said holidays were given at at least 200 factories in Savar and Ashulia; more than a hundred of the roughly 800 factories under his jurisdiction were closed, with the largest numbers in the Norsinghapur, Nischintapur and Zirabo areas.
In Fatullah, Narayanganj, garment workers blocked the road for the second consecutive day demanding a wage increase. They gathered at around 2:30 pm in the Shibu Market area of the Dhaka-Narayanganj link road, and the blockade continued until 5 pm. During this time, fires were set on the road and several vehicles were vandalised. When police tried to clear the workers and restore traffic, chases and counter-chases began. Police fired tear gas while protesters threw bricks. At least 11 people were injured, including three district police members and six industrial police members; two workers were injured in police baton charges.
Narayanganj district additional superintendent of police (DB) Hasinuzzaman said the workers were dispersed at around 5 pm after they began arson on the road and vandalising vehicles. Traffic resumed after the clashes, and police remain deployed in the area to keep the situation under control.
To control the law and order situation in the industrial areas, 12 platoons of BGB have been deployed. A BGB headquarters message on Tuesday said 10 platoons are on duty in the Safipur, Kaliakair and Konabari areas of Gazipur and two platoons in the Chashara area of Narayanganj. They are working in coordination with the local administration and other forces. The situation on the ground is being monitored from the headquarters' central monitoring cell through drones and body-worn cameras.
Meanwhile, Dhaka superintendent of police Shamima Parveen said at a press briefing on Tuesday noon that police have information about who, wearing burqas and helmets, is trying to make the situation in the Ashulia and Savar industrial areas unrestful, and intelligence surveillance is continuing. She claimed that, alongside genuine workers, some people from outside are trying to create disorder, and operations to arrest them are under way. In Gazipur, the number of executive magistrates for security has been raised from 21 to 25. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed has spoken of identifying those instigating the instability in the industrial areas.
Presenting the government's position, the prime minister's information and broadcasting adviser Dr Zahed Ur Rahman told the Information Department's weekly press briefing at the Secretariat on Tuesday that, considering the workers' rising living costs and inflation, the government formed the wage board ahead of the scheduled time. He claimed that despite this, looted money of the banned political party Awami League may be invested behind the violence and sabotage in the ongoing movement. Citing intelligence information, he said attempts are being made to create sabotage by spending the large amount of looted money held by the banned party. He said the government and administration are ready to resist this firmly. Additional secretary of the information and broadcasting ministry Md Shah Alam and chief information officer Syed Abdal Ahmad were present at the briefing.
With factories closed, not only production but also raw material supply, goods transport, packaging and related service activities are being obstructed. Concern has arisen over preparing export-order goods and shipping them on schedule. More than 80 percent of the country's total export earnings come from the garment sector, and about four million people are employed in the industry. However, no reliable combined figure is yet available for the total production or export losses caused by the movement.
