To protest disparity in wages, garment workers tried to enforce a blockade on the Ashulia highway for the 8th day.

However, after half an hour of the barricade, the police dispersed them.

At the time of filing the report, situation was back to normalcy with regular flow of vehicles.

On Monday (Jan 14) morning, garment workers came out from the factories and blockaded the Baipail-Abdullahpur road. At this time, the police arrived and said, “Those who want to work, enter the factory, others go home.”

Several agitating workers claimed that their wages saw a paltry rise which led them to the streets to protest. Additional police have been deployed in front of factories.

Amid the workers’ agitation demanding better pay, the government on Sunday (Jan 13) readjusted six grades in the wage structure for readymade garment (RMG) workers as ordered by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Labour and Employment Minister Monnuzan Sufian made the announcement on Sunday evening after a tripartite meeting between the government, factory owners’ body and workers’ representatives.

The labour union leaders agreed and signed on the new pay scale in the meeting, added Sufian during the announcement.

He called on the garments workers to immediately return to work.

Earlier on Sunday, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), threatened to shut down factories indefinitely unless the workers are back to work by Monday

The factory owners even warned that workers who won’t join their respective workplaces will not get paid.

However, the agitating workers in Ashulia said on Monday that the pay raise was less than they expected.

Since the workers’ protests over the wage gap started from Jan 6, at least one worker was killed and dozens wounded which prompted the government to form tripartite panel look into the pay demands.