garment factory workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway and a regional road in Kaliakair, Gazipur, on Tuesday to demand increased wages and allowances. The protest, which lasted nearly the entire day from 10 AM to 4 PM, caused traffic to halt for six hours, creating a severe tailback spanning several kilometers from Chandra to Konabari and causing immense suffering to commuters and transport workers.
According to police, locals, and workers, the agitation began in the morning when workers of Essential Clothing Limited in the Mouchak area of Kaliakair started protesting for higher pay. They later took a position on the Kaliakair-Fulbaria regional road and threw bricks at nearby factories, demanding work to halt and early closure. To avoid untlipped incidents, several factories declared holidays, and those workers subsequently joined the highway protest. Additionally, workers in the Palli Bidyut area set fires on the highway and vandalized vehicles.
During efforts to control the situation, Humayun Kabir Khan, general secretary of the Bangladesh Road Transport Workers Union and central BNP co-labor affairs secretary, along with several others, was injured by brickbats thrown by agitated workers. Upon receiving the news, teams from the Gazipur Industrial Police and District Police rushed to the scene and pacified the workers. Traffic movement gradually normalized after the workers cleared the road around 4 PM. Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent (SP) Amzad Hossain stated that the government has already decided to form a wage board and urged workers to remain patient.
Reported by 12 outlets. See the original sources below for full details.
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