After Hemayetpur, Garment Workers Protest in Ashulia; Workers of 173 Factories Join Movement

After a two-hour blockade of the Dhaka-Aricha highway in Savar's Hemayetpur, garment workers have now taken to protest in the Ashulia industrial area.

With a three-point demand including fixing the minimum wage at 30,000 taka, workers of various factories in the Nishchintapur and Narsinghpur areas came out at around 11am on Wednesday and tried to block the Abdullahpur-Baipail road. Police chased them to disperse them at that time.

Local administration sources say workers of 173 factories are taking part in the movement. Savar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Saiful Islam also confirmed, as the latest information, that workers of 173 garment factories are participating in the movement.

Talking to workers, police and worker leaders, it was learned that this morning workers of two factories of New Age Group in Ashulia's Nishchintapur and several factories of Ha-Meem Group in Narsinghpur came to join work. But instead of working, they stayed inside the factories.

Later, at around 11am, workers of surrounding factories also came out with them and tried to block the Abdullahpur-Baipail road.

Police then tried to remove them from the road. Afterwards, the workers split into small groups and continued marching at various points on the road. Law enforcement personnel are working to bring the situation under control.

Several protesting workers expressed anger, saying the government is only trying to suppress the movement. No effective initiative is being taken to raise wages considering the workers' hardship.

One worker said, 'If we protest, we are harmed too, and the owners are harmed too. But if we cannot eat and live properly, what will we do? That is why we try to realise our demands through movement. In the past, most of the workers' demands were realised through movement.'

On the workers' statements, Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweater Workers Trade Union Centre, said, 'We do not want the law and order situation to deteriorate because of the movement. I think if the owners talk to the workers sincerely, the movement will stop.'

Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Tarikul Islam said at around 12 noon that workers came out of the factories and are marching in small groups at various points on the Abdullahpur-Baipail road. However, no violent incident has taken place anywhere.