After days of protests, garment workers return to work in Gazipur; highway traffic back to normal

After several days of protests, clashes and tension over demands for a higher minimum wage, the situation in Gazipur's industrial belt is gradually returning to normal. Workers have begun returning to their jobs.

On Thursday morning (November 5), workers were seen entering factories across Gazipur in groups. With no blockades or sit-ins on the highways or regional roads, vehicles of all kinds were moving normally.

Members of the law enforcement agencies remain deployed to keep the industrial area calm. A total of 25 platoons are deployed under the leadership of 25 executive magistrates: 12 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), five platoons of Ansar and eight platoons of SRB members.

Md Arif Hossain, Assistant Commissioner (Media and Research Cell) at the Gazipur Deputy Commissioner's office, said BGB, Ansar and SRB members have been deployed to keep the law and order situation under control in industrial Gazipur following the recent worker protests. Led by 25 executive magistrates, the law enforcement members are on duty in various areas.

He added that the forces are working to ensure that, in the name of movement, no harm comes to state property or to the lives and property of ordinary people. BGB members have already taken up positions in the field, and members of the other forces are also ready to perform their duties.

Workers at various Gazipur garment factories had been protesting for the past several days demanding that the minimum monthly wage be set at 30,000 taka. Blockades at different points of the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka-Mymensingh highways disrupted traffic during that time.

At one stage of the protests, a police box, a police vehicle and a factory warehouse were set on fire. There were also several rounds of clashes and chases between workers and law enforcement personnel, in which workers and law enforcers were injured. Several people were detained over the incidents.

To keep the situation under control, many factory authorities declared temporary holidays. During the movement, a worker named Toufique was beaten while filming on his mobile phone; an allegation of his death later surfaced, which created further tension among the workers.

After days of unrest, however, concerned people believe normalcy will return to the industrial belt now that workers came back to their workplaces on Thursday morning and there are no blockades on the roads.