Readymade Garments (RMG) workers continue their protests and clashed with police in the industrial areas of Savar and Ashulia again since Wednesday morning, prompting law enforcers to fire tear gas shells and sound grenades to bring the situation under control.
At least 50 factories in the two areas declared holidays amid the ongoing labour unrest, according to Industrial Police.
The clashes took place between 8:30am and 9:00am in Jamgora, along the Abdullahpur-Baipail road in Ashulia, and at Padmar Mor in Hemayetpur, Savar.
Police and eyewitnesses said workers from several factories in Jamgora, Nischintapur, Narsinghpur and Zirabo stopped working around 8:30am and tried to take to the streets. At one point, workers and police engaged in chases and counter-chases in Jamgora, prompting police to fire tear gas shells and sound grenades.
Around 9:00am, workers from several factories near Padmar Mor in Hemayetpur also walked out of their workplaces and tried to block the Hemayetpur-Singair road. They later engaged in chases and counter-chases with police.
Workers hurled brickbats at police personnel, prompting law enforcers to fire tear gas shells and sound grenades to disperse them.
Speaking about the situation in Hemayetpur, Dhaka Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime, Operations and Traffic-North) Md Jahangir Alam told the media that the situation had remained largely peaceful since morning.
"At one point, outsiders tried to create unrest at one or two garment factories. We have no information about whether they were actually workers. The outsiders tried to create an unstable situation at garment factories in the Hemayetpur area. However, we dispersed them quite easily. The situation is now very good," he said.
He alleged that a third party was trying to destabilise the industrial areas despite the formation of the wage board.
"You know very well why this keeps happening. The main issue behind the workers' movement was the formation of a wage board. The wage board has already been formed. They have been told that a decision will be reached on the matter very soon. Meetings have also been held in this regard. Meanwhile, a third party from outside is trying to destabilise the situation to serve some other interests. Such a group has become involved in the situation. That is why things are unfolding this way," he said.
Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, said the situation was normal at the time.
"There was some trouble in Jamgora in Ashulia and Padmar Mor in Savar in the morning. Workers and outsiders blocked roads and hurled brickbats at police. Tear gas shells were fired to bring the situation under control," he said.
Asked how many factories had declared holidays, he said around 50 factories across Savar and Ashulia had shut for the day.
Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, said that labour unrest had been reported in Ashulia and around Padmar Mor in Savar.
He said workers and police had engaged in chases and counter-chases in Jamgora in the morning, prompting police to fire tear gas shells and sound grenades. Similar measures were taken against workers in the Padmar Mor area, he added.
Rejecting the police claim that a third party had joined the movement, Mintu questioned how outsiders could become involved given the heavy security deployment in the industrial areas.
The government formed a wage board on November 1 following protests by garment workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000.
However, labour unrest has continued in the industrial areas despite the formation of the board, which is tasked with determining a new minimum wage.
While police partly blame the continuing unrest on the involvement and support of a third party, workers insist that they are leading the movement themselves.
Kabir Hossain, joint secretary of the central committee of the Jatiya Garments Sramik Federation, said workers were demanding the announcement of a new minimum wage, not merely the formation of a wage board.
Asked about police claims that a third party had become involved, Kabir said, "When I speak of a third party joining the movement, I mean that many garment factories have closed over the past two to three years, leaving many workers unemployed. They are now engaged in different occupations, from driving rickshaws to other jobs. When the workers started the movement, these people joined in, driven by their own grievances."
