The protest began around 8:30am in the Chandra and Palli Bidyut areas, where workers stopped work and moved onto the road. Police and other law enforcement personnel later dispersed the protesters and restored traffic movement, according to local media report.
Garment workers in Gazipur’s Kaliakair blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway on November 14 after a rumour that a worker injured in an earlier police clash had died.
Traffic halted on both sides before police, Border Guard Bangladesh and other law enforcers cleared the road.
Gazipur Industrial Police-2 said wage increases were the main demand and workers from seven to eight factories joined.
Locals and workers said employees of Tropical Garment Factory in the Chandra Palli Bidyut area and Apex Lingerie in Purba Chandra had staged protests on Thursday. Police fired tear gas and sound grenades to disperse them, leaving several workers injured.
After the rumour spread inside the factories on the morning of November 14, Gazipur Industrial Police, Kaliakair Police Station personnel and members of Border Guard Bangladesh reached the scene and tried to persuade the workers to leave the road. Police used force to clear the blockade after tensions escalated.
Eyewitnesses cited in the report said small groups of 10 to 20 workers continued trying to enter the highway at different points after the main blockade was cleared. The attempts slowed traffic and caused brief disruptions, but movement did not stop completely.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG)
