No violence at RMG hubs Friday

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FE Report After six days of workers' violent protests, the country's apparel industrial hubs finally passed a day without any violence on Friday. Most of the factories remained closed because of weekly holiday. Workers' violence for minimum monthly wage of Tk 8,000 rocked the country's largest foreign currency earning sector for the last six days until Thursday. This caused frequent production suspension. However, the law enforcement agencies continued to put in place precautionary measures at Gazipur, Savar, Ashulia and Narayanganj apparel industrial zones to avert any trouble there. "At last, we passed a day without any violence. Most of the units were closed as Friday is a public holiday," Assistant Director (Intelligence) of Industrial Police-1 Md. Moniruzzaman told the FE. The official of the specialised force said tight security arrangements are still in place there so that no one can start fresh trouble suddenly. Talking to the FE, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Tongi Police Station Abul Kalam Azad said a few factories resumed production on the day to cope with the losses they had incurred during last six days. "No violence was recorded today (Friday)," he said, adding that all policemen were instructed to remain alert until any further order. According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the recent chaos over fixation of new wage structure severely affected production of some 3,000 factories in Gazipur, Savar, Ashulia, Dhaka and Narayanganj due to violence.