Staff Correspondent, Dhaka
Workers of Irish Fashion Limited garment factory blocked the Chandra-Nabinagar Highway in the Zirani area of Gazipur Metropolitan City on Monday, demanding a wage hike.
The protest lasted for an hour, from 8:30am to 9:30am, before police intervened and removed them from the highway.
During that protest, several nearby factories were shut down by their authorities.
On Monday morning, the workers resumed their demonstrations.
At around 8:30am, garment workers took position on the Chandra-Nabinagar Highway, blocking traffic.
After an hour, they vacated the road and continued their protest inside the factory.
According to the Industrial Police and workers, several factory authorities implemented the government's directive to increase wages by 9% annually.
However, the directive says that workers who have not completed one year of service will not be eligible for the wage increase.
Despite this, workers of Irish Fashion Limited began their protest on Sunday morning, demanding a wage hike.
They continued their demonstration until noon before returning home.
On Monday morning, the workers resumed their protest after reporting to the factory.
At around 8:30am, they blocked the Chandra-Nabinagar Highway to press their demands.
Law enforcement officials arrived at the scene, convinced the workers to leave the road, and restored traffic flow by 9:30am.
However, the workers continued their protest inside the factory premises.
Additional Superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police, Khalilur Rahman, said that the workers had blocked the highway for a short time.
Traffic on the Chandra-Nabinagar Highway is now back to normal, and additional law enforcement personnel have been deployed to maintain order at the site.
