Workers protest at two Gazipur factories demanding pay hike, six factories shut

Workers of Ripon Knitwear and Alim Knitwear factories in the Kashimpur and Jorun areas of Gazipur city staged protests demanding a pay hike. Following these incidents, authorities declared holidays at six factories in the Kashimpur, Jorun and Naozor areas. The number of factories shut may increase further.

The factories were given holidays after workers began protesting at around 10:30am on Tuesday (10 November).

Police and locals said workers of Ripon Knitwear factory in the Jorun area of Konabari began protesting in the morning. They then tried to bring out workers of nearby factories. At that time, workers of several factories came out. On receiving the news, police reached the spot and dispersed them.

On the other hand, on hearing about the workers' protest, workers of the ICCL factory and several nearby factories in the Naozor area came out and took position on the Dhaka-Tangail highway. They also tried to bring out workers of several more factories. Following these incidents, authorities declared a one-day holiday at six factories.

Md. Amjad Hossain, Superintendent of Police of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, said workers of two factories in the Kashimpur-Jorun area protested. They then tried to bring out workers of nearby factories. Following these incidents, factory authorities declared holidays at six factories in several areas including Kashimpur, Jorun and Naozor.

The Superintendent of Police said the workers later returned home peacefully. Police have been deployed in different industrial areas to avert any untoward incident.