Bangladesh News

Unruly garment factory workers yesterday ransacked a factory and over a dozen vehicles at Mirpur in the capital after the factory staff beat up some workers.

Some 15 workers were also wounded during the half an hour-long clashes with factory staff and the law enforcers at the factory of Opex group at Mirpur Section 13.

The Opex workers alleged that around 50 workers from other nearby factories came to their factory at around 10:30am and asked the management to close the factory as yesterday was a public holiday for Durga Puja and the workers will not get overtime payment for the day’s work.

“Without paying heed to their request, the factory authorities barred us from coming out and kept the gates locked which incensed them,” Jharna Begum, an operator of Opex, said.

At one point, the Opex staff assaulted the workers agitating outside and beat up four of them, the workers alleged. They also said police and Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) personnel deployed there helped the staff to drive away the small group of agitating workers.

When news of the incident spread, several hundred furious workers from a dozen garment factories in the area rushed there and stormed into the factory breaking open the iron-gate. They also damaged 14 vehicles, one computer, furniture and windowpanes of the factory.

The law enforcers posted there retreated during the attack, the factory authorities alleged.

After the attackers had left the place, the Opex authorities let their workers go out.

Director of the factory Col (retd) Mujibul Islam Khan, however, denied the allegation of confining the workers to the factory and claimed that they were working peacefully when some outsiders came there and were dispersed by police and Rab. Later, a mob came and started vandalising the factory, he added. He also denied that his staff had beaten up any workers.

Asked about forcing the workers to work on a government holiday, he said it is not a holiday in garments factory as per factory rules. “Only Hindus working here are given leave with proper salary and festival bonus,” he added.

Earlier, at around 8:30am some 200 workers of Garry Stone Sweater factory at Kachukhet came out of their factory protesting against what they alleged was providing less payment for per sweater production.

As they marched towards Mirpur Section 10, over a thousand workers from around a dozen garments and sweater factories in the areas joined them demanding wage increase, payment of overtime and arrears. The procession ended at Kachukhet after parading Mirpur-10 and Shewrapara.

Police said the procession was peaceful and the demonstrators did not attack any garment factories or cause any traffic congestion.