Workers Protest for Minimum Wage Hike in Bangladesh, Block Highway
Bangladeshi garment workers demand a minimum wage of 30,000 Taka, leading to highway blockades and factory closures in Gazipur.
Gazipur, November 1 (Daily Kiran) : In Gazipur, Bangladesh, garment workers staged a significant protest on Sunday, demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 Taka. The demonstration escalated as workers set fire to a police box in the Konabari area and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway. To control the situation, five platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) were deployed.
Around 9:30 a.m., the workers began obstructing the highway, causing major traffic disruptions. They chanted slogans for higher wages and occupied several roads, including those near Mochak, Chandrapoli Bidiut, Safipur Bazar, and Teli Chala in the Kaliakair sub-district.
According to reports from the Dhaka Tribune, employees from various factories participated in the protest, which significantly impacted operations and led to production halts at several plants.
Officer Iftikhar Hossain from Konabari police station confirmed that protesters had set fire to a police box on the Dhaka-Tangail highway. Shahidul Islam, the officer in charge of Kaliakair police station, noted that the ongoing road blockades hindered vehicle movement.
The Daily Star reported that over 50 garment factories in the Ashulia area declared a holiday due to the protests. Workers are demanding not only a minimum wage increase but also the cessation of alleged blacklisting practices and improved working conditions. Many factory employees gathered along the Abdulalapur-Baipail road in Narayanganj, echoing calls for better pay.
Similar protests occurred on Saturday in Ashulia, prompting at least 11 factories in the Kathgora area to announce closures. Superintendent Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan of Ashulia Industrial Police-1 revealed that a police officer was injured due to stone-pelting during the protests.
Clashes between police and protesters were reported, with demonstrators throwing bricks at nearby factories, resulting in injuries to law enforcement. An official from a garment factory in the Kathgora Amtala area, speaking on condition of anonymity, stated that most factories in the region have declared holidays.
Workers argue that rising inflation makes it increasingly difficult to manage on their current wages, prompting their long-standing demands for a wage increase and better working conditions.
