Workers of a garment factory in Kaliakoir, Gazipur have gone on strike and protested demanding payment of three months' arrears of wages. During this, the workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway. This caused extreme suffering to commuters on the Dhaka-Tangail highway. When the police lobbed tear shells to control the situation, the workers dispersed.
Workers of the ready-made garment factory named 'Mahmud Denim Limited' located in Safipur of Kaliakoir upazila of the district started this movement from Wednesday (January 7) morning.
The workers said that the workers of the 'Mahmud Denim Limited' factory have not been paid their salaries for the last three months. The workers have applied to the authorities for their salaries several times. Tension has been going on in the factory for the last few days regarding this. As a result, the workers who arrived at the factory on Wednesday morning did not join work and started a protest at the factory gate. At one point, they blocked the Dhaka-Tangail road. This stopped the movement of vehicles on the road.
Police said that when the police went to the spot to explain to the workers, the workers started a protest and started throwing bricks at the police. Later, the police fired a few rounds of tear gas to control the situation, and the workers dispersed. They gathered at the factory gate and protested.
Factory worker Rafiqul Islam said, they have not been paying salaries for the last three months. If you want, I will tell you, we live in a rented house. The owner of the house is pressuring us for rent. We cannot afford to eat properly. If we are not paid, we will protest.
Worker Rahima Akhter said, three months of salary is left. We are repeatedly being asked to pay the outstanding house rent, shop rent, and children's school fees. In this situation, no one wants to lend us money.
Kaliakoir Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Khandaker Nasir Uddin said, "Workers in Safipur staged a protest demanding outstanding salaries. We went to the spot after receiving the news and spoke to them in various ways. The situation is currently normal. We have spoken to the factory owner. The matter will be resolved soon."
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