Garment factories reopen as workers return to work in Savar-Ashulia

Photo: collected

The situation in garment factories across the Savar-Ashulia industrial belt returned to normal yesterday as workers resumed work after receiving overdue wages, increased attendance bonuses and assurances that their demands would be addressed.

Meanwhile, the second meeting of the Wage Board to determine new wages for garment workers will be held at 11:00am next Monday at its office in Segunbagicha, Dhaka.

The meeting will be chaired by Board Chairman and District and Sessions Judge Syed Azad Subhani.

According to board sources, representatives of garment factory owners and workers will submit their proposed wage structures at the meeting. Proposals for minimum wages covering workers and employees across all grades in the industrial sector will also be discussed.

The board's first meeting was held on November 4, when representatives of both sides agreed to submit their respective proposals at the next meeting.

The second meeting is expected to move discussions on the new wage structure into a more formal stage.

Meanwhile, workers began gathering outside factories across Savar and Ashulia from around 7:00am yesterday. They entered their workplaces in orderly lines after showing their identity cards.

Production resumed at full capacity, and no untoward incidents were reported.

Owners of BGMEA-member factories in the industrial belt said several rounds of discussions involving factory owners, worker representatives and the local administration had helped resolve the unrest of recent days.

They said workers' grievances were addressed through assurances to meet reasonable demands and immediate decisions on some issues.

A female garment worker said complications over their demands had been resolved through discussions.

"We have all joined work today to keep our livelihood intact and to maintain a normal environment in the factory," she said.

Garment industry entrepreneurs expressed hope that normal operations would help recover production losses and ensure timely delivery of export orders to international buyers.

Our Savar correspondent reports that workers returned to factories in a festive atmosphere yesterday morning, with production activities continuing peacefully.

Most garment factories along the Dhaka-Aricha and Ashulia-Bypile highways reopened. Traffic movement on the Dhaka-Aricha and Bypile-Abdullahpur highways also remained normal.

Security was strengthened across the industrial zone to prevent further unrest. Alongside police, 13 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel were deployed, while 25 executive magistrates were assigned to maintain order.

Ashulia Industrial Police Director Mominul Islam Bhuiyan said law enforcement agencies remained on alert to keep the situation under control.

Police file case over clash

Meanwhile, police filed a case over the workers' movement and a clash with police in the Shibu Market area of Fatullah, Narayanganj.

The case names 42 individuals and accuses another 200 to 300 unidentified people.

SI Shahidul Islam of Fatullah Model Police Station filed the case as the plaintiff on Thursday night.

Police arrested a man named Shibu, 42, in connection with the case.