Several thousand garment workers, carrying sticks, gathered behind Purabi Cinema Hall in Pallabi, Dhaka on Tuesday morning.
They blocked the road in front of the hall, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. When police attempted to disperse the workers, clashes broke out. Police fired several sound grenades during the protest.
The unrest later spread to the Mirpur-11 area, where garment workers and police were involved in a series of chases and counter-chases. Police fired tear gas shells and sound grenades in an effort to bring the situation under control.
Passenger boarding and alighting at Mirpur-11 Metro Station have been suspended amid the unrest.
Members of the police, the Special Response Battalion (SRB) and other agencies have been deployed in the area to restore order.
Meanwhile, workers also staged demonstrations by blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur.
For the past several days, hundreds of workers from several garment factories have been protesting at the Mirpur-10 roundabout, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000. At one stage, the demonstrations brought vehicular movement in the area to a halt.
