Agitated ready-made garment (RMG) workers on Saturday blockaded the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur for hours demanding payment of salary in the new scale.
The workers of Moonlight Garments Ltd and Ehsan Garments started protesting in the Targach area under the Gacha police station from 8am.
Sub-inspector Sharmin Ara, a duty officer of Gacha police station, confirmed it.
Labour leader Azizul Islam said that the workers of the two factories staged demonstrations demanding a wage hike for hundreds of garment workers rearranging with the government-announced new scale.
Moonlight Garments Ltd and Ehsan Garments Senior Admin Officer Ataur Rahman could not be reached over the phone for comment on the issue.
Meanwhile, about seven hundred workers of Meigo Bangladesh (Bay-Economic Zone) Ltd also organized a protest rally and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Konabari area around 7:30 am with their six-point demand.
Gridlock was formed as vehicular movement on Dhaka-Tangail highway remained suspended for over an hour.
According to the factory sources, about 400 workers entered the factory at 7:30am and approximately 200-250 workers stayed on the side of the Dhaka Tangail highway with their 6-point demands.
At one stage, they blocked the highway.
The workers demanded to include RMG workers in Grade 1 from Grade 4 as per the new pay scale announced by the government. The pay scale is to be determined as per Schedule A and Schedule B. The rate of overtime shall be calculated as per the government rules and workers agitating for their rights should not be laid off.
The other demands include an eight-hour duty time instead of ten hours.
Admin Manager of Meigo Bangladesh (Bay-Economic Zone) Lt Mohd Khalid Hasan told local journalists that the salary of the workers has been increased but they did not like it. He further said that efforts are underway to resolve the matter.
Mohammad Ziaul Islam, OC, Konabari Police Station said that some workers protested in front of the Bay-Economic Zone in the morning.
A long tailback was created on both sides of the Dhaka-Tangail highway following the demonstration.
However, vehicular movement normalized as police drove the demonstrating workers away from the highway after assuring them of taking steps regarding their demands.
Gazipur Industrial Police-2, Additional Superintendent of Police (Operation and Intelligence) Md Imran Ahmed said that the workers have been protesting for the past few days. They are continuing that movement even on Saturday.
