More than 200 garment factories in Savar–Ashulia declare a holiday as the home minister calls the unrest a 'planned political conspiracy'

More than two hundred garment factories in Dhaka's Savar and Ashulia have declared a holiday amid worker unrest and clashes. Industrial Police-1 superintendent Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan confirmed the figure by phone at around 7:30pm on Wednesday (4 November), saying the decisions were taken considering worker safety and the overall factory situation.

For several days, garment workers in Savar–Ashulia, the Gazipur industrial belt, Narayanganj and other areas have been blockading roads and protesting for a minimum wage of 30,000 taka, and there have been clashes with law enforcement personnel.

At around 7pm, Dhaka district police superintendent Shamima Parvin said miscreants gathered around the workers were trying to create an unstable situation, and that most of them belonged to a banned organisation. They were the ones who first attacked garment factories in Hemayetpur, after which frightened workers came out of the factories. Genuine workers were not involved in today's incident, she said.

Shamima Parvin added that one person had been detained in the Hemayetpur area with a cocktail bomb, which he had detonated. Another person was detained over setting a police vehicle on fire. When attempts were made to destabilise the situation through road blockades, vandalism and arson, tear gas shells and sound grenades had to be used to disperse those involved, she said.

Meanwhile, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said what is happening in the garment industry is no ordinary labour movement: it is a planned political violence, conspiracy and anti-state attempt aimed at destabilising the country by using ordinary workers. He made the remarks while briefing journalists at the Secretariat on Wednesday after an inter-ministerial meeting on the draft Cyber Security (Amendment) Act 2026 at the Posts and Telecommunications Ministry.

The minister said garment workers currently have no unresolved demands, yet a quarter is conspiring to create instability in the industrial sector. No ordinary worker is involved in this disorder and violence; instead, in the name of a labour movement, some outsiders and non-workers are carrying out attacks, arson and destructive acts.

Salahuddin Ahmed said investigations had found that some garment owners from the era of the past Awami League government, along with former MPs, ministers and state ministers, had a direct political agenda and role behind it. Mafia and reactionary forces were also engaged in trying to implement a conspiracy run from a neighbouring country, he said, adding that the government has ordered these anti-state acts of violence to be suppressed with a firm hand.

On the workers' main demand, the minister said forming a wage board every three years to set a new minimum wage was the principal demand. The government had moved to form the board well in advance; although there was a slight delay because the workers' side took some time to submit its representatives' names, the wage board was formed immediately after the names were received, and its first meeting has already been held successfully.

The board, led by an officer of senior district judge rank, includes representatives of both owners and workers. It is working with the specific target of bringing a new wage structure into effect from 1 January 2027, considering inflation, the economic situation and the cost of living, the home minister said.

The minister said the government recently held a long and fruitful meeting with garment owners and detailed talks with labour leaders as well. Both sides agreed that these destructive acts are not a movement of ordinary workers; workers are being used as a shield to serve political interests. He added that the prime minister is highly labour-friendly, worker-friendly and industry-friendly, and has given clear instructions to consider the issues with priority on improving workers' living standards.

On the role of law enforcement, the home minister said the government is handling the situation with great patience. The forces have been clearly instructed not to use more force than necessary under any circumstances. Many of their members are seriously injured and under treatment in hospital, yet they have shown restraint; however, no concessions will be made to mafia and criminal gangs.

The minister urged ordinary workers not to heed any provocation or rumours and to return to their workplaces immediately. If workers return to work, industrial production will keep running and the workers' own employment and the national economy will be protected, he said.

Asked about the detention of journalist Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury, the home minister said that if he has been detained, necessary legal steps are being taken because there is a specific complaint against him, and the matter will be examined according to law. Posts, Telecommunications and ICT Minister Fakir Mahbub Anam and State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaid Islam, among others, were present at the press briefing.