RMG workers clash with police in Ashulia amid protests, vehicle set on fire, 2 detained
Garment workers staged protests in Ashulia, Savar, Dhaka, again today, Monday, demanding, among other things, that the minimum wage be raised to Tk 30,000.
The workers and the police engaged in clashes and chases at the time. Police fired tear gas shells, while protesters set fire to a covered van.
The situation in industrial areas in Savar and Ashulia was normal on Monday morning, but began to deteriorate after 9:00 am.
In response to the situation, authorities declared a general holiday at factories in various parts of Ashulia and Savar.
At around 1:00 pm, protesters and police chased each other and exchanged brickbats in the Narsinghapur area of Ashulia. Police fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesters. Two people were detained later.
According to police and eyewitnesses, workers at New Age Group factories observed a work stoppage on Monday morning. At around 9:30 am, agitated workers came out of the factory demanding that the minimum wage be raised to Tk 30,000.
A worker from Mini Southern Garments in the Jirabo area said, “We were working when the protesters arrived. They later declared a holiday. All the factories up to Kathgora pond area have been closed. Six or seven factories beside ours have also declared a holiday.”
They then went to the gates of other factories and began protesting there. Authorities subsequently declared a general holiday at several factories in the area.
At one point, the agitated workers went to protest outside the Ha-Meem Group factory. Police fired tear gas shells there to disperse them. Clashes and chases between workers and police, along with the exchange of brickbats, continued intermittently. A police officer was injured after being hit by brickbats thrown by workers.
A protester, speaking on condition of anonymity said, “We asked the Ha-Meem workers to come out. Members of the administration were there. At one point, they attacked us. They fired a lot of tear gas. Many people were injured.”
At around 9:30 am, 400 to 500 workers staged a protest outside the factory of Bengal Plastic Pipes Ltd, beside the Kathgora Road in the Jirabo area of Ashulia. They later threw bricks and stones at the factory and urged workers to come out.
At one point, the protesters went to factories along the road from Jirabo to Kathgora and staged demonstrations outside them, calling on their workers to join them. Authorities declared a general holiday at several factories during this time.
A worker from Mini Southern Garments in the Jirabo area said, “We were working when the protesters arrived. They later declared a holiday. All the factories up to Kathgora pond area have been closed. Six or seven factories beside ours have also declared a holiday.”
Meanwhile, at around 10:00 am, workers staged protests outside various factories in the Ghoshbagh area along the Abdullahpur–Baipail road. When police tried to bring the situation under control, protesters and police chased each other and exchanged brickbats.
The workers then blocked the road by laying an electricity pole across it. Police chased them away and charged batons on them to clear the road. At around 11:30 am, protesters set fire to a covered van during clashes and chases with police in the Narsinghapur area.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan of Ashulia Industrial Police-1 said industrial police and Dhaka district police were working to bring the situation under control. He said industrial police were making efforts to keep traffic moving normally and prevent sabotage or vandalism at factories.
Khairul Mamun, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, told Prothom Alo that the government had taken steps in response to the workers’ legitimate demands.
He said the incidents of vandalism at garment factories and attacks on establishments producing goods other than garments were suspicious. General workers never vandalise their own factories, he said, adding that these incidents needed to be investigated.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan of Ashulia Industrial Police-1 said industrial police and Dhaka district police were working to bring the situation under control. He said industrial police were making efforts to keep traffic moving normally and prevent sabotage or vandalism at factories.
Most factories in Narsinghpur, Bishmail and Kathgora had declared a holiday. They had information that many outsiders involved in criminal activities had joined the protests, he said. Action would be taken against them, and efforts were under way to detain them.