As many as 68 readymade garment (RMG) factories in Ashulia and Gazipur industrial areas remained closed on Tuesday as workers’ protest and unrest in the apparel sector continues.
Of them, 55 factories remained shut in Ashulia and 13 others in Gazipur.
Witnesses said, the workers continued protests in front of different factories with various demands as part of their movement that continued for the last three weeks.
Meanwhile, the joint forces arrested eight people on charges of attacks, vandalism, blocking roads and setting fire to various garment factories in Ashulia by instigating the protesting workers.
Police and local sources said, among the 55 RMG factories in Ashulia, 46 were closed under section 13 (1) of Bangladesh Labor Act 2006 (no work-no pay) and 13 were announced general holidays.
However, normal operations were seen in other factories in the industrial area including Dhaka Export Processing Zone.
Labour leaders say that many factory workers arrived at the factories in the morning, but returned after they say closure notices in front of the factories.
According to Mohammad Sarwar Alam, Superintendent of Industrial Police, the factories those stopped production were located mainly besides Bypail-Abdullahpur road in Ashulia.
However, even if 55 factories were closed, not all of them were due to their workers protesting. Workers of only 10 to 12 factories were protesting which is causing unrest in chaos in the neighbouring factories, said the SP.
It is also reported that among the factories which were open, workers stopped work in some factories with various demands.
However, there was no news of any roadblock or any untoward incident anywhere in the industrial area on Tuesday, added the SP.
In order to strengthen security, patrolling activities are ongoing in the industrial areas with additional members of law enforcement forces deployed in front of various factories.
BGMEA says the number of closed factories 35
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said production operations were halted in 35 factories in Ashulia.
Among them, 29 factories were closed under Bangladesh Labour Act Section 13(1). The number of factories which were closed after opening in the morning or announced general holiday is six.
Factories closed under Section 13(1) of the Labor Act include Hamim Group, Anant Group, Ducati Apparels, NASA Group, New Age Group, Bando Design, Yagi Bangladesh Limited, Envoy Group, Vintage Garments, Generation Next.
In addition, the factories that have announced paid holidays or work is halted include Sidko Group, The Rose Dresses ltd, FnF trend Fashion, Trousers Line Ltd, Wucho Fashion, Fashion Forum Ltd.
BGMEA said that today 407 factories are open in Savar, Ashulia, Jirani area, on the contrary 35 are closed and in Gazipur 876 factories are open whereas four are closed.
The number of factories that remain open in Narayanganj, Dhaka and Chattogram are 209, 302 and 350. No factories are closed in these areas.
According to BGMEA, 267 (98.16%) factories in Ashulia area have paid their salaries for the month of August, and 5 (1.83%) factories have not paid their salaries.
Meanwhile, Abu Bakkar Siddiq, Officer-in-Charge of Ashulia Police Station, said, the joint forces arrested eight people on charges of attacks, vandalism, blocking roads and setting fire to various garment factories in Ashulia by instigating the protesting workers.
Earlier on Monday, six other people were arrested in Gazipur on the same charges.
13 factories shut in Gazipur
In Gazipur, as many as 13 factories in Gazipur remained shut on Tuesday following workers’ agitation.
However, workers of other factories joined the factories in groups, ensuring the industrial environment remained calm.
Despite the unrest over the past few days in Tongi, Bagher Bazar in Sadar upazila, and Mouchak in Kaliakair, no reports of worker protests or any untoward incidents were received as of on Tuesday afternoon.
Workers reported to work as usual in the morning, with additional security measures in place, including police deployment and army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) patrols.
According to sources from factory owners and workers, Gazipur has witnessed continuous worker unrest over the past few days.
Earlier on Monday, protests, road blockades, and vandalism of factories escalated the situation in the industrial area, leading to the closure of 13 factories. Later, the army and police brought the situation under control.
Imran Ahmed, additional superintendent of industrial police-2 in Gazipur, said, "Almost all factories in Gazipur have been open since Tuesday morning. Production is ongoing, and no incidents of worker unrest have been reported so far. Besides the industrial police, district and metropolitan police are also working to ensure factory security. BGB and army patrols have been reinforced. None of the 13 factories that were closed yesterday have resumed operations, they remain shut today as well."
