Jute mill workers demonstrate, block Jatrabari intersection

Hundreds of jute mill workers blocked Jatrabari intersection in the capital demanding the payment of their outstanding wages.

The workers said they had been going through hardship as they were not paid for past eight weeks.

Around 8:00am, hundreds of workers from Latif Bayani Mill and Karim Jute Mill took position in Jatrabari, blocking the vehicular movement in one of the busiest gateways of capital.

Latif Bayani Mill’s worker Abdur Razzaq told Prothom Alo that they are unpaid for the past two months.

Karim Jute Mill’s Sahmsul Haque said, “Today is the first day of Ramadan. No wages were given in the past eight weeks. How will we run our family?”

It was learnt after talking to the workers that they mainly want implementation of the 2015’s government wage board and permanent status for the contractual workers.

Due to the blockade, no vehicle on the Dhaka-Chittagong highway could enter the capital in the morning.

At one stage around 10:00am, the police chased the workers and dispersed them from the area.