Several hundred workers of a readymade garment factory at Ashulia, on the outskirts of the capital, on Monday blocked the Dhaka-Tangail Highway for five hours demanding their termination benefit.
Witnesses and police said that the workers of Sharmin Group blocked the highway at around 10:00am to press home their demand.
After five hours, police and other law enforcement agencies removed them from the road.
Superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan said that for the past several days, workers had been observing work abstention in the factory disrupting production.
On Monday, the workers took to the streets to press their demand disrupting traffic. Police used water cannons and charged batons to disperse them to ease the traffic movement.
The workers said that the factory management suspended them and served show-cause notices on 453 workers over unrest in the factory in the past week but did not give any termination benefits.
Sharmin Group executive director Md Ismail Hossain said that the workers were invited to a wedding feast on the occasion of wedding ceremony of his elder brother and owner of Ha-Meem Group AK Azad鈥檚 son on January 3.
Due to mismanagement in serving food, some workers were demonstrating in the factory and vandalised the factory, Ismail added.
Between Thursday and Sunday, they served the show-cause notice under the Labour Act section 23 on the workers, Ismail said, adding that the workers, however, have been demonstrating for termination benefits under the Labour Act Section 26.
He alleged that some labour leaders provoked the workers to the demonstration even after assuring them of serving food to them once again.
Nazma Akter, president of Sammilita Garment Sramik Federation, said that a tripartite negotiation setttled the issue as factory owners agreed to pay termination benefits to the workers.
Sharmin Group employed over 16,000 workers under their several RMG units like Sharmin Fashions Ltd and Sharmin Apparels Ltd.
The factory quality controller Tofazzel Hossaain, who was injured during vandalism, filed a case with Ashulia police on Saturday against three workers.