Apparel workers resume blockade after brief pause

Workers of TNZ Group resumed their blockade of the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway on Monday afternoon just an hour after briefly lifting it.

The protest, which began on Saturday morning, continued over unpaid wages till filing of the report at 7:00 pm.

The demonstrating workers said they would continue the blockade until the delegation that was scheduled to hold a meeting with Secretary of the Labour and Employment Ministry AHM Shafiquzzaman at his secretariat office returned from Dhaka.

When contacted, the secretary said he was still at his office at around 7:00 pm and would hold the meeting with the agitating workers' representatives. He was optimistic that they would resolve the issue by Monday.

On Saturday morning, hundreds of workers from five garment factories of the TNZ Group blocked the highway, demanding payment of salary arrears and allowances along with the reopening of the closed factories.

Traffic in Gazipur was brought to a standstill due to the blockade. The authorities of at least 32 readymade garment factories in the area announced holiday on Monday to avert any possible untoward eventualities.

At around 2:30 pm, demonstrating workers announced an end to their blockade following the government assurances to resolve their issues. They left the highway allowing resumption of traffic on the highway.

Gazipur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ershad Miah along with army officials, the police and the administration visited the spot to address the workers' concerns. They held talks with the workers and a delegation was then sent to Dhaka to resolve their unpaid wage issues.

At around 3:30 pm, workers, however, blocked the highway again causing severe traffic jam on both sides of the road. They were still staging protests on the highway until filing of the report at 7:30 pm.

[email protected]