Workers' protest turns violent in Ashulia, more than 50 injured; 30 factories shut, BGB deployed

Workers staged a large protest and clashed with police in the Ashulia industrial area of Savar, pressing a nine-point set of demands including raising the minimum monthly wage to Tk 30,000 and ending the blacklisting of workers.

To bring the clash under control, police carried out a baton charge and fired tear gas and rubber bullets, 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.

Faced with the extremely tense situation, the authorities were forced to declare holidays at 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.

When the factory authorities eventually declared a holiday, the workers went to the fronts of other factories around 10 am and tried to start protests there. When police fired tear gas to disperse them, both sides began chasing each other and throwing brickbats.

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

Several platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (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, faced with the prevailing labour unrest, the authorities have declared all factories of NewAge Group in the Ashulia area closed indefinitely 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 30 factories were given holidays in the context of the labour unrest. Six police personnel were injured by stones thrown by protesters while on duty in the Nischintapur area, and one of them suffered 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 holidays had to be declared to avoid chaos. After 1:30 pm, police brought the situation fully under control and apparent calm returned to the area, though traffic on the main roads had still not returned to normal.