Garment workers demanding higher wages clashed with the police leaving at least two workers injured and closer to at least 20 factories in the capital's outskirt Ashulia on Tuesday.
The clashes errupted around 10:30 AM, when workers blocked the road in the Jamgara area along the Baipail-Abdullahpur highway in Ashulia. Police eventually dispersed the crowd by firing tear gas shells and sound grenades.
The two injured workers have been identified as Alamgir Hossain (30), a finishing operator at Sterling Styles Limited, and Razia Begum (40), a sewing operator at the same factory.
Harun-or-Rashid, the operations manager at Ashulia Women and Children Hospital, said that it is initially suspected the two workers sustained injuries from rubber bullets.
He also said that the injured workers were rushed to the hospitals.
The police, however, maintain that no weapons other than tear gas shells and sound grenades were used to disperse the workers.
Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, Superintendent of Police (SP) for the Ashulia Industrial Police-1, said that tear gas and sound grenades were used only after attempts to persuade the protesters to clear the road failed. He said that any injuries sustained by the workers were caused by bricks or stones, and that no rubber bullets were used. Due to the situation, the authorities of approximately 20 factories have decided to suspend operations.
Officials from the Ashulia Industrial Police-1 noted that while most workers arrived for their shifts as scheduled this morning, employees at several factories stopped working and remained on the premises. Subsequently, operations were suspended at several factories.
Khairul Mamun, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, has suggested building trust among workers as a way to resolve the ongoing issues.
He told that if factory owners were to promptly submit proposals to the Wage Board, much of the workers' skepticism regarding wage increases could be dispelled. Many factory owners are threatening their workers, stating that if they do not work, the factories will be shut down and they will lose their jobs. This situation can be resolved if a sense of trust can be fostered among the workers.