RMG workers block Dhaka-Ctg Highway

Workers at a garments factory have blocked the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway for nearly an hour and a half demanding backpay and an Eid bonus in Cumilla's Chandina, reports bdnews24.com.

The protest blocked thousands of vehicles on the highway, leading to suffering for drivers and passengers.

The workers from the 'Denim Processing Plant' in the Belashahar area of Chandina blocked the road from 11:00 am to around 12:30pm on Sunday.

The factory is right next to the highway. The blockade led to a 20-km-long tailback on the highway.

"Lanes in both directions on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway were heavily congested due to the workers' blockade," said Manzurul Alam, chief of Eliotganj Highway thana. "The traffic returned to normal once the workers left the road."

"But now, because traffic was stuck for an hour and a half, it's moving quite slowly."

The workers alleged the factory regularly fails to pay them. They say they are owed two months of backpay in addition to their Eid bonuses.

The workers left the road around 12:30 pm after local government representatives went to the scene and made assurances they would be paid by Friday.

Locals said the highway was congested from Burichang upazila's Kabila to Daudkandi upazila's Eliotganj due to the worker protest, stalling thousands of holidaymakers.

Ambulances carrying patients, people travelling abroad, and freight trucks rushing to market faced the most difficulties.

Billal Hossain from Feni's Daganbhuiyan, is heading abroad.

"I have to get to the airport by 3:00 pm," he said. "I even hired a car to ensure I would get there quickly."

"But now I'm stuck in traffic at Kandina. I have no idea when I will get there."

Anowar Hossain is driving a truck of cattle from Sirajganj.

"I am taking the cattle to Chattogram," he said. "But I'm stuck now."

Shyamoli Paribahan passenger Shahana Parveen is headed to Chattogram too. She condemned the protest.

"The workers work in the factory. If they are not paid their wages and bonuses, they should protest there."

"Instead, they came onto the highway and are causing suffering to hundreds of thousands of people. Will the drivers who ply the highway pay their wages? The government should take stronger action in such cases."

A worker named Anwar Hossain said, "We work at the garment factory because we have to eat. They are always late with their payments. If we work 90 hours of overtime in a month, they only pay for 30-35 hours. The rest they dismiss."

"Now there are only two days left before Eid. They haven't paid us our wages for two months. We didn't even get a bonus. How will we celebrate Eid?"

Jaber Md Soaib, Chandina Upazila Nirbahi Officer, said the workers will get their pay by Friday.

"After a lot of effort, we managed to convince the workers to leave the highway. The Chandina police and Highway Police were very cooperative."

The traffic has returned to normal on the Dhaka-Chattogram Highway but the congestion has led to vehicles moving slowly along the road, the UNO said.