Garment workers’ protests demanding higher wages have spread across major industrial areas, with initially peaceful road blockades escalating into clashes, arson and attacks on journalists over the past few days.
On Sunday, as the government formed a wage board to determine a new pay structure, workers clashed with police and blocked roads in Dhaka’s Mirpur, Hemayetpur and Ashulia in Savar, and Kaliakair, Konabari, Palli Bidyut, Safipur and Mouchak in Gazipur.
Several structures and police vehicles were set ablaze, while journalists also came under attack. Police used tear gas, sound grenades and water cannons to disperse protesters, while Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed.
More than 300 garment factories declared holidays amid the unrest. In several areas, protesters also pressured workers at other factories to join the demonstrations.
The movement began in Uttara’s Azampur area on 12 October, with workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000, payment of outstanding wages and allowances, an end to layoffs and protection against blacklisting.
Demonstrations and road blockades continued in Uttara and nearby areas, with the first clashes between workers and police reported on 17 October.
The government subsequently announced plans to form a minimum wage board and introduce a new pay structure by December. The protests nevertheless continued, spreading from Uttara to Mirpur, Ashulia and Gazipur’s industrial areas.
The unrest has also disrupted major routes linking Dhaka with northern Bangladesh and the Mymensingh region, causing widespread difficulties for commuters.
In Mirpur, workers from several garment factories blocked roads around the Mirpur-10 roundabout from about 9am on Sunday. The demonstrations spread to Mirpur-11, Mirpur-12 and Prashika intersection, bringing traffic to a standstill during the morning rush.
Clashes broke out when police tried to clear the roads. Police used water cannons, tear gas and sound grenades as the two sides engaged in repeated chases and counter-chases.
Around noon, protesters set fire to a police vehicle beneath Mirpur-11 metro rail station, near Purabi Cinema Hall. Firefighters who arrived to extinguish the blaze were also chased away.
The clashes, which began around 11:30am, continued until about 2pm. Mirpur-10, Mirpur-11 and Pallabi metro rail stations were temporarily closed.
Police later said they had detained 28 people, identifying them as leaders and activists of the Awami League, whose activities have been banned, and its affiliated organisations.
Police alleged that the detainees had infiltrated the workers’ movement to provoke clashes, commit arson and carry out acts of sabotage.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Joint Commissioner Mahidul Islam said a wage board had already been formed, but workers refused to leave the roads despite efforts to explain the development.
“A wage board has been formed to determine workers’ wages. We tried to explain this to the workers, but they refused to leave the roads. Police suspect that an anti-government or anti-state group has joined the protesters and is attempting to disrupt law and order,” he told journalists.
DMP Detective Branch Deputy Commissioner for Mirpur Division Mohammad Rakib Khan alleged that attempts were being made to exploit the protests to carry out sabotage.
“They all joined the movement from outside Dhaka with the intention of creating violence. They came from Cox’s Bazar, Munshiganj, Patuakhali and Noakhali,” he said.
In Savar and Ashulia, 177 factories declared holidays because of the unrest, according to Industrial Police-1 Superintendent of Police Md Muminul Islam Bhuiyan.
He said workers began demonstrating on Sunday morning, leaving factories in Narsinghpur and occupying the Abdullahpur–Baipail highway.
Factories in Narsinghpur, Jirani, Baraipara, Sreepur and Baipail, among other areas, were subsequently closed.
Violence also erupted in Gazipur, where workers blocked the Dhaka–Tangail highway in Safipur and Palli Bidyut from around 8:30 am.
Protesters vandalised banks, factories, shops and vehicles, and set fire to police facilities and vehicles. More than 100 factories were temporarily shut down in Gazipur.
Two journalists were attacked while covering the unrest, and their cameras and mobile phones were snatched away. At least 32 people, including workers, police personnel and journalists, were injured.
Workers also placed wood and bamboo on both sides of the highway and set them alight. They attempted to set fire to a fabric factory belonging to Tropical (Mondol) Garments in Palli Bidyut.
A Jamuna Bank branch, roadside shops and vehicles were vandalised, while protesters threw bricks and stones at police and set fire to a police box in the middle of the highway.
Several workers said rising living costs had made their current wages inadequate.
They said a gas cylinder alone cost nearly Tk2,500, making it increasingly difficult to support their families.
Konabari Police Station Officer-in-Charge Iftekhar Hossain said protesters had removed equipment from a police box in Konabari and set it on fire.
Five BGB platoons were deployed from the morning, alongside Industrial Police and Armed Police Battalion personnel.
Around 3 pm, law enforcement personnel used tear gas and sound grenades to disperse protesters. The situation subsequently eased, and traffic resumed on the highway after five and a half hours.
Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent of Police Amjad Hossain said most factories in Kaliakair and Konabari had temporarily closed because of the unrest.
He said BGB personnel had been deployed in Chandra, Palli Bidyut, Safipur, Konabari, Mouchak, Naojor and Bhogra Bypass to restore order.
Additional reporting by TIMES correspondents in Savar (Dhaka) and Gazipur.
