Garment workers again staged demonstrations in the city and its adjacent areas on Saturday after a recess of one-day to press home their demand for removal of the disparity in the minimum wage structure.
The demonstrators blocked roads and intersections at some points in the capital including Mirpur Road, Shewrapara, Mirpur Bangla College. They also staged demo at Ashulia and Tongi.
However, law enforcement agencies managed to clear the roads and dispersed the agitating workers from most of the spots.
Over a dozen people were injured on the day as the police charged baton and used water cannons to disperse the workers in Ashulia and Mirpur areas.
From around 9:30 am to 10:00 am, workers of some factories gathered at several spots, blocking one side of Mirpur Road from the Darussalam bus-stop to the Technical Intersection.
Another group of workers took position in front of Mirpur Bangla College near the Technical Intersection, according to an eyewitness.
Vehicular movement came to a halt on the road towards Gabtoli, a major entry and exit point of the capital. It also created traffic congestions on the Mirpur Road.
The situation returned to normal around 2:00 pm following interference by law enforcement agencies.
Garment workers also staged demo on the Begum Rokeya Sarani in the city's Shewrapara, Bhashantek and Mirpur-14 that forced the factories to shut production.
However, a section of agitating workers threw brick chips and vandalised portions of at least two factories-- Banex Apparel Ltd at North Ibrahimpur and Lodestar Fashions Ltd at Mirpur-14.
They forced the workers of the two factories to join their demo, according to factory authorities.
Earlier in the morning, workers vandalised some 20 vehicles on the Dhaka-Tangail highway at the Ashulia point while at least 12 people were injured as police forced them to leave the roads.
The workers have been agitating for a week barring a recess on Friday demanding elimination of disparity in the wage structure.
Protesters said monthly wages of workers in seventh grade increased to Tk 8,000 from Tk 5,300 in the latest wage structure. But wages of the workers in other grades did not increase at the same rate.
The major disparity in the wage hike was noticed in the third and fourth grades as wages of the workers belonging to these grades did not increase like that of entry-level workers.
In the new wage structure, only Tk 500 was raised in most of the grades other than the seventh whereas an entry-level worker's wage increased by Tk 2,700.
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