Bangladesh: Police used tear gas, water cannons as garment workers block key highways over wages

Dhaka: Police used tear gas and water cannons on Monday to disperse striking garment workers in Dhaka’s Ashulia as escalating wage unrest saw over 1,000 workers block the Dhaka-Tangail and Nabinagar-Chandra highways, bringing traffic to a complete standstill over demands for a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000, local media reported.

The blockade began on Monday morning after workers from several factories gathered on the highway in the Palli Bidyut area.

Mohammad Amjad Hossain, superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police, said that nearly 1,000 workers had taken over the highway, disrupting vehicular movement in both directions, Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune reported.

In a separate incident on Monday in Dhaka’s Ashulia, police resorted to tear gas and water cannons to disperse garment workers who walked out of several factories and attempted to block the Nabinagar-Chandra highway.

The workers were protesting over demands for a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000, an end to blacklisting and other demands.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Mohibullah Akon, assistant commissioner (AC land) of Ashulia Circle, confirmed the development, saying the workers tried twice to block the Nabinagar-Chandra highway in the Kabirpur area.“We are trying to bring the situation under control,” he added.

On Sunday, garment workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Bangladesh's Gazipur and set a police box in Konabari on fire in protest to demand a minimum monthly salary of Tk 30,000, local media reported.

Iftekhar Hossain, officer-in-charge of Konabari police station, said protesters set fire to a police box at the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Konabari area. Shahidul Islam, officer-in-charge of Kaliakair police station, said that movement of traffic remained disrupted as workers continued to block the highway, Dhaka Tribune reported.

Reports suggest that clashes between workers and police erupted on Sunday morning and continued until the afternoon.

Police have arrested several people in Mirpur and Gazipur over alleged involvement in vandalism, arson and sabotage during the workers' demonstrations.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Mirpur division said 29 people had been arrested in connection with the protests in the area, while Industrial Police reported the arrest of another 20 in the Gazipur industrial zone.

Meanwhile, a leading international human rights organisation, Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF), strongly condemned “police torture and arbitrary arrests” targeting garment workers, including women, as well as students passing through the area, during demonstrations in Ashulia, Gazipur and Dhaka’s Mirpur.

JMBF called on the Bangladeshi authorities to conduct independent investigations into police abuses and arbitrary arrests, ensure accountability for those responsible, and protect detained workers and labour leaders.

“Workers have been demanding higher wages because they cannot meet their living costs. The authorities should have sat down with their representatives. Instead, workers were beaten and arrested. A worker being thrown onto the road and a student being beaten by law enforcement personnel are serious acts of abuse. Those responsible must answer for their actions,” said Shahanur Islam, Founder President of JMBF.

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