On Saturday morning, the garment workers in Gazipur's Targach district began protesting, demanding to be paid on a new scale.
Beginning at 8 a.m., employees of Moonlight Garments Ltd. and Ehsan Garments began demonstrating in the Targach neighborhood beneath the Gacha police station.
The issue was verified by Sub-inspector Sharmin, a duty officer at the Gacha police station.
According to labor leader Azizul Islam, hundreds of garment workers have been reorganizing with the government-announced new scale, and as a result, the workers of the two companies have been protesting and demanding a pay increase.
Ataur Rahman, the senior administrative officer of Ehsan Garments and Moonlight Garments Ltd, was not available for remark over the phone.
Around 7:30 am, seven hundred Meigo Bangladesh (Bay-Economic Zone) Ltd workers began blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway in the Konabari area in protest, citing six demands.
Traffic congestion developed when traffic on the Dhaka-Tangail expressway was stopped for more than an hour.
Around 400 workers entered the facility at 7:30 a.m., according to factory sources, and between 200 and 250 workers remained by the side of the Dhaka-Tangail highway with their six demands.
They temporarily blocked the highway.
The workers stated, citing their six-point demand: "In accordance with the government's newly announced pay structure, the workers must be moved from Grade 4 to Grade 1. The wage scale must be established in accordance with Schedules A and B. Government regulations will determine the overtime rate, and employees who are advocating for their rights should not be fired."
One of the additional needs is a duty time of eight hours rather than 10.
Lt Mohd Khalid Hasan, the administrative manager of Meigo Bangladesh (Bay-Economic Zone), stated that although the workers' salaries had increased, they did not like it. In addition, he stated that attempts are being made to find a solution.
Workers staged a demonstration in front of the Bay-Economic Zone early in the morning, according to Mohammad Ziaul Islam, OC, Konabari Police Station.
A long tailback has been generated on both sides of the Dhaka-Tangail highway following the demonstration.
However, once police assured the protesting workers that action would be taken in response to their requests, traffic flow resumed as usual.
Additional Superintendent of Police (Operation and Intelligence), Md Imran Ahmed, of Gazipur Industrial Police-2, reported that the workers have been protesting for the past few days. Even on Saturday, they are still moving in that manner.
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