Ashulia garment workers clash with police over wage hike demand; over 50 injured, 30 factories shut

Massive protests and clashes by workers broke out in Ashulia, the industrial area of Savar, over a nine-point set of demands including raising the minimum monthly wage to Tk 30,000 and ending the blacklisting of workers. Police baton-charged and fired tear gas and rubber bullets to bring the conflict under control, leaving more than 50 workers injured, including members of the law enforcement agencies.

At least six police personnel were injured by brickbats thrown by the protesters. Amid the extremely tense situation, the authorities were forced to declare holidays in at least 30 garment factories in the area.

On Tuesday morning, workers had entered the factories peacefully and joined work. But after some time, workers at several industrial units including Sharmin Group, Envoy and Sterling stopped production and stayed inside.

At one point, when the factory authorities granted leave, the workers around 10am tried to stage protests in front of other factories. When police fired tear shells to disperse them, chase and counter-chase and brickbat throwing began between the two sides.

Later, workers from several factories took to the streets and blocked the Bypail-Abdullahpur road, and the situation became extreme.

Several platoons of BGB personnel have been deployed in Ashulia to maintain overall security in the industrial area and deal with any untoward situation. Additional police are on alert at various factory premises and sensitive points.

Meanwhile, in the face of the prevailing worker unrest, the authorities have declared all factories under the Newage Group in the Ashulia area closed for an indefinite period under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.

Speaking about the overall situation, Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, told a media outlet that holidays were given in 30 factories in view of the worker unrest.

He said six police personnel were injured by stones thrown by protesters while on duty in the Nishchintapur area, one of them suffering a serious injury above the eye.

An official of another factory said the protesters forced workers of other establishments to stop work by throwing stones, and leave had to be given to avoid disorder.

After 1:30pm, police brought the situation fully under control and apparent calm returned to the area, although traffic on the main roads had not yet returned to normal.

Meanwhile, fearing worker unrest, the authorities in Gazipur also declared holidays in 12 factories. Around 10:30am on Tuesday, workers tried to take to the highway, and police later removed them.