Hundreds of garment workers protest for pay

Hundreds of garment workers fought street battle with security forces at around 10:30am Saturday in Tejgaon Industrial Area in the capital for pay and festival allowances. The furious workers vandalised a garment factory and clashed with the army, RAB and the police. Traffic in Tejgaon and Mohakhali areas screeched to a halt for sometime in the wake of the violence. All garment factories in the industrial area have been closed down following the chaos. A labour unrest had brewed in the past two days over pay, iftar and festival allowances ahead of Eid at several factories of Nasa Group in Tejgaon-Begunbari area. Police had already been deployed there. Security was reinforced Saturday in front of the factories and the army is patrolling the streets in the area that remained tense. The owners' body BGMEA has called a press conference at 3 in the afternoon to explain the situation.