Workers from five garment factories of the TNZ Group in Gazipur blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway for 35 hours through Sunday evening, demanding payment of outstanding wages and allowances, as well as the reopening of closed factories.
The blockade caused severe traffic congestion on about 20 kilometres along the highway, 抖阴精品 correspondent in Gazipur reported.
Hundreds of vehicles became trapped on various regional roads, including the Dhaka-Tangail and Dhaka bypass highways.
Public life in Gazipur has been paralysed due to the ongoing blockade, which has lasted for two days.
Meanwhile, authorities of 30 factories have declared a holiday in the area as of Sunday afternoon to prevent potential vandalism resulting from the labour unrest.
As of the latest report at 7:00pm, the workers of TNZ group had not lifted the blockade.
Labour ministry adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan on Sunday said that the government has taken initiative to resolve the crisis in TNZ group.
At a press briefing held at the labour ministry, the adviser said that they were working with the banks having transaction with the TNZ Group to secure funds to pay the workers鈥� dues.
According to the police and the protesting workers, the workers at five factories of TNZ Apparels Limited in the Mogarkhal area of the city were owed approximately Tk聽14-15 crore as outstanding wages for September and October.
Despite repeated assurances, the authorities have failed to pay the dues.
The workers were supposed to receive their payment on November 3, but the factory was locked, and the officials fled without settling the dues.
Every day, the workers return to the factory in hope of resuming work, which has led to growing frustration among them. Consequently, the workers began protesting in front of the factory on Saturday morning.
Gazipur Industrial Police superintendent Sarwar Alam said that due to the labour unrest, authorities have declared holiday at about 30 garment factories in the Konabari-Jirani area of Gazipur.
He said that on Sunday morning, the protesting workers from TNZ Group visited nearby factories in an attempt to bring out other workers.
When they were prevented from doing so, the workers threw brickbats and vandalised several factories, causing panic.
In response, authorities declared a holiday for the nearby factories to contain the restive situation, Sarwar said.
Labour adviser Asif Mahmud said that the government was not using force to disperse the workers from the road. Instead, he said that, the government focused on addressing the workers鈥� issues and resolving the situation.
鈥榃e are mounting pressure on factory owner and negotiating with banks to secure fund to pay the workers,鈥� he said.
The interim government respects the lawful demands of workers, and that, for the first time in Bangladesh鈥檚 history, the government has held factory owners accountable to address workers鈥� issues, the adviser said.
鈥業n some cases, we have even seized the passports of factory owners in order to resolve the workers鈥� demands,鈥� Asif said.
Labour secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman said that a review meeting on 18-point demand of workers was held on Sunday in an aim to address the ongoing labour issues.
Significant progress was made on most of the demands, with a few being fully fulfilled, he said.
Shafiquzzaman said that wage-related issues have been resolved in most export-oriented RMG factories, with only 19 still struggling to pay the workers鈥� dues.