Ashulia unrest: 65 factories remain closed

Due to the ongoing worker unrest, production activities in 65 garment factories in Dhaka's Ashulia industrial area remain halted today (29 September), as per the industry sources. 

Among these, 14 factories have been closed under the "No Work, No Pay" provision of Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, while 51 factories are either on paid leave, have ceased operations, or workers have left.

Earlier this morning, the Industrial Police reported that although the situation in areas such as Baipail, DEPZ, Jamgora, and Narsinghpur had been relatively calm since morning, unrest gradually escalated in the Zirabo Pukurpar area when workers of Beq Knit Ltd. of Lusaka Group gathered in front of the factory to protest, demanding the reopening of the closed factory and the withdrawal of cases filed against workers.

A source from the Industrial Police said, "Although the situation in other parts of the industrial area was relatively calm since the morning, unrest began once again in Kathgara, similar to yesterday."

Workers from Beq Knitwear Ltd. of Lusaka Group gathered in front of the factory this morning to protest, demanding the reopening of the closed factory and the withdrawal of cases filed against the workers. At one point, the workers began throwing stones and causing a disturbance in front of other nearby factories, prompting several factories in the area to declare closure.

Later, workers from Mondol Knitwear Ltd. also took to the streets, blocking roads and starting protests, accusing authorities of detaining and assaulting two of their workers. 

As workers from other nearby factories gradually joined the protesting workers, the situation worsened.

A worker from Lusaka Group said, "I went to the factory in the morning. Later, workers started protesting, demanding the reopening of the closed factory and the withdrawal of cases against them. The police and army personnel chased the workers away. Afterwards, workers from Mondol also began protesting, and they went to other factories to bring workers out."

As of 12:30pm, tension was still high in the areas of Kathgara, Pukurpar, and surrounding areas in Ashulia.

According to industry sources, 14 factories closed in Ashulia, include The Rose Dresses Ltd., Islam Dresses Ltd., Anjuman Design Ltd., Envoy Fashion Ltd., New Age Group, and Beq Knitwear Ltd., are closed today under Section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act.

Additionally, factories that are on paid leave, have stopped operations, or in which workers have left include Skyline Garments Ltd., Skyline Apparels Ltd., Usso Fashion, Mangotex Ltd., Arunima Apparels, Textown Ltd., AR Jeans Producer Ltd., Kathgara Composite Ltd., Southern Clothing, Mascot Knit, Agami Apparels, and Comfort Composite.

The source further reported that there are a total of 407 operational factories in Savar, Ashulia, and Zirani areas today, while 65 remain closed. In Gazipur, 876 factories are operational, with only one closed. In Narayanganj, 209 factories are open, 302 in the DMP area, and 350 in Chattogram. 

None of the factories in these areas are closed today.

Attempts to contact Md Sarwar Alam, superintendent of Industrial Police-1, for a statement were unsuccessful as calls were not answered.