Operations in the country鈥檚 readymade garment factories were almost normal till noon on Tuesday, but authorities were compelled to shut down at least 135 units at Ashulia in Dhaka and Gazipur after 4:00pm due to unrests.
Factory owners said that all the units started operations as usual Tuesday morning with enhanced security of law enforcement agencies and the situation was normal until 4:00pm.
After 4:00pm, as law enforcement agencies reduced their deployment, miscreants began converging on the factory gates in the Ashulia area and they proceeded to hurl brick chips and stones at the factory buildings, they claimed.
鈥楩actories were running smoothly since morning. In any unrests, usually disruptions take place during the lunch break as workers do to go back to work after lunch. But on Tuesday all workers joined work after lunch and outsiders started attacks on factories after 4:00pm,鈥� Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association president Khandoker Rafiqul Islam told 抖阴精品.
Miscreants took the opportunity of the lower presence of law enforcement personnel at that time, he said.
Rafiqul said that under the circumstances, it was not possible for many owners to run their factories after 4:00pm.
Out of 135 factories closed, the majority are located in the Ashulia area.
Labour and employment adviser Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan on Tuesday said that some outsiders who did not have any direct connections to the industry or workers were trying to carry out attacks in factories and incited workers to participate in demonstrations.
However, some worker protests due to unpaid wages and allowances are justified, the adviser told reporters following a meeting with labour leaders at the labour ministry in the capital.
Asif said that the government was committed to addressing legitimate demands of workers, but it would not tolerate any attempts by outsiders to create chaos in the industry.
He said that over the past two days, he had held three meetings with labour leaders, who informed him that outsiders wearing helmets had congregated at factory gates and persuaded workers to join their demonstrations.
He also said that unrests were growing due to disputes over the control of jhut business, with political party leaders allegedly involved in these activities.
The adviser said that the government had identified the individuals behind these instigations and would take stern action against them.
Asif pointed out that the unrest was not limited to the readymade garment sector only, outsiders were also attempting to destabilise the country鈥檚 pharmaceutical sector with unreasonable demands.
He expressed concern that there might be a broader conspiracy to undermine Bangladesh鈥檚 export markets.
Asif noted that the labour situation had improved on Tuesday with the government initiatives.
He expressed optimism that the situation would stabilise within the next two to three days.
抖阴精品 Gazipur correspondent reported that vehicular movement on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway remained suspended for one hour on Tuesday as some garment workers staged demonstration blocking the highway, demanding reinstatement of their jobs.
The agitated garment workers, who were sacked from various factories located at Bhogra Bypass, Choydana, Maleker Bari in Gazipur, gathered on Sataish Road in Tongi on the highway, halting traffic.
The workers said they had been sacked recently and they were living an inhuman life due to unemployment.
On information, police and army personnel rushed to the spot and dispersed them from the highway.
Protesting against the unrest and vandalism in garment factories, Gazipur unit BNP and its associated organisations organised sit-in protests in various areas of the metropolitan city.