Garment workers block roads in Mirpur, Kanchpur for back pay

September 16, 2019 00:00:00

A policeman, using a megaphone, asking agitating workers of a garment factory to disperse as they blocked a road at Mirpur Section-01 on Sunday to press for payment of their dues — Collected

Workers from garment maker Zaara Jeans blocked a road in Mirpur to demand payment of outstanding wages and allowances, reports bdnews24.com.

Traffic on the Zoo Road, Mirpur 10 to Mazar Road and in front of Mirpur Bangla College ground came to a halt due to the blockade, said Shah Ali Police Station chief Md Salahuddin Mia.

The factory is situated on the fourth and fifth floors of a building on 13 and 14 Zoo Road. The workers put up a barricade in front of the factory as well as the Sony Cinema Hall.

"The owners locked up the factory and fled on Thursday. Their phones are switched off too," said 'Salma', a sewing section operator.

They also had to stage protests over the payment of salaries before Eid, according to another worker 'Ayesha'.

"We went to the BGMEA on Wednesday and they said the issue would be resolved on Saturday. We went again on Saturday but no-one spoke to us. We were compelled to take to the streets today."

Police requested the workers to leave the street but they did not pay heed to it, said OC Md Salauddin Mia. "They ask for the owners to come and open the factory and pay their dues."

Factory owner Reazul Haque Raju is having a meeting in the BGMEA, after police contacted him, said the OC.

"We told the workers to go to BGMEA but they refused, saying it didn't work last time. They won't leave the street until the owners come to the factory."

Meanwhile, workers of Sinha Opex Garments in Kachpur blockaded the Dhaka-Sylhet Highway for one and a half an hour to press home a three-point demand, including the payment of salary by the 10th of each month.

The protests caused severe traffic congestion on the highway from 10 am to 11.30 am as the workers set fire to tyres and logs in protest.

Police subsequently charged baton and fired tear shells to disperse the protesters, said Additional Superintendent of Industrial Police Saikat A Shahin.

The Sinha Opex Garment authority has been laying off workers on "different excuses" over the past few months, said the protesters. According to the protesters, the garment maker violated the labour law by failing to pay three months' salary to some workers upon their dismissals.