Production at about 10 ready-made garment (RMG) factories, located in the Gazipur-Ashulia industrial belt, remained suspended on Monday, as their workers continued work abstention despite the call to resume work, sources said.
"Workers of the majority of the units, who went on work abstention, resumed their work on Monday," said Abdus Salam, additional inspector general of Industrial Police.
However, workers of some factories located in Gazipur-Ashulia belt continued their demonstration, he said, expressing hope that they would return to work shortly.
Workers of more than 50 garment factories, located in Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj, had been continuing demonstration since December 09 over the new wage structure dispute.
Following the work abstention, the authorities of those units announced on Thursday three-day holiday, beginning on Friday.
The workers alleged that basic payment under a few grades would decline, once the new wage structure is implemented.
The government and the leaders of both owners and workers urged the agitating workers on Saturday to return to work from Monday.
State Minister for Labour Mujibul Haque Chunnu in an emergency meeting on Saturday assured them that the government would address the inconsistencies, if any, in the new wage structure, announced recently for the garment workers.
Workers of some nine to ten factories in Gazipur and Ashulia continued their demonstration on Monday. As a result, production remained suspended in those units, according to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) officials.
The officials of DIFE and industrial police along with the factory owners were working jointly so that the workers in those units resumed their work, they added.
When asked, Mohammed Nasir, vice president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said majority of the agitating workers returned to their respective work places on Monday.
However, problems still remained in some eight to ten units in the Gazipur-Ashulia RMG hub.
But the problems would be solved shortly, he expressed his hope.
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