The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Wednesday has decided to keep all of their factories across the country open from today (Thursday).
BGMEA president Khandaker Rafiqul Islam made the announcement as saying that all garment factories in the country will remain open from Thursday after law-enforcement and security agencies assured them of providing proper securities.
Earlier on Wednesday, BGMEA leaders along with owners of different garment factories, senior officials and personnel from the Bangladesh army, Bangladesh Police and personnel from different intelligence agencies held a meeting where the decision was taken.
The BGMEA president said, “Although workers were not involved in this movement, 167 garment factories were closed due to labour unrest.”
"Outsiders created chaos and made attacks. Therefore, the owners have decided to reopen the garment factories from Thursday as the army and law enforcement forcers have assured them of providing security in the factory areas", he said.
According to sources, at least 60 garment factories were forced to declare themselves closed in Ashulia industrial area on Wednesday in the face of protests by workers over various demands.
Industrial police sources said, the situation started to escalating after 8:00am when the workers of different factories from Baipail to Zirabo area on the Baipail-Abdullahpur road in Ashulia entered the factories.
Md Sarwar Alam, superintendent of Industrial Police-1, confirmed that authorities were forced to announce the closure of their factories one by one, as workers started protesting with various demands.
By 11:30am, workers started protesting at various points along the Baipail-Abdullahpur road, causing significant traffic disruptions.
Industrial Police, supported by the army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel, were deployed to manage the situation.
However, several factories were open in other industrial zones, including inside the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ), the SP said.
Meanwhile, over a thousand workers from a factory blocked the Nabinagar-Chandra highway in Ashulia's Palashbari area around 12:00pm today, continuing their protests over various demands.
The workers had previously protested a week ago, pressing for a 12-point demand that included transportation allowances, food stipends, salary increments, reduced maternity duty, and the dismissal of officials accused of harassment.
Following those protests, the owners of the factory initially agreed to meet the demands but later closed the factory, said protesters.
When the factory reopened today, the authorities informed the workers that none of their demands would be fulfilled, the protesters said.
Abu Ishaq, a worker of the factory, said, "Previously, our company provided us with incentives, food allowances, and transportation fare, but recently, these benefits were discontinued without notice."
Anwar Hossain, additional superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, said, "We are in talks with the workers and trying to persuade them to clear the road. We are also trying to talk to the factory authority."
Mohammad Sarwar Alam, superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, confirmed that in response to the protests, at least 60 factories, including Ha-Meem Group and Sharmin Group, were forced to close down operations.
"Workers are still on the road [around 3:45pm], and we are working to normalise the situation," he added.
UNB, Gazipur reports; Protests by retrenched garment workers and job seekers disrupted vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur for an hour on Wednesday.
They staged demonstration at the Vogra Bypass area of Gazipur Metropolitan and the Bagher Bazar area of Sadar Upazila in the morning.
Workers from several garment factories and unemployed youths staged the protest, causing severe traffic jams and inconvenience to travelers.
Later, the law enforcement agencies intervened and managed to restore normalcy.
However, the protest led to several nearby factories declaring a holiday for the day.
In a separate development, workers from Uni Health Pharmaceuticals, a drug manufacturing company located in Rajandrapur, Gazipur, also staged a protest to press home 21-point demand.
The workers vowed to continue their protest until their demands are met.
Gazipur Industrial Police Additional Superintendent Imran Ahmed said that the protesters were mainly outsiders and they created obstacles on the road. The law enforcement agencies took prompt action to restore order at the scene.
