Protesting workers withdraw Nabinagar-Chandra road blockade after 33 hours
BEPZA Executive Director (public relations) Anwar Parvez said, “As far as I know, the authorities have asked for three months' time, during which the factory will be sold by auction and the dues of all the workers will be paid.”
Workers of Lenny Fashion and Lenny Apparels, which were shut down four years ago, withdrew their blockade of the Nabinagar-Chandra Road in front of Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) at Ashulia after 33 hours this (27 November) afternoon.
The protesting workers withdrew the blockade after reaching an agreement with the DEPZ authorities following long discussions, Industrial Police-1 Superintendent Md Sarwar Alam confirmed to The Business Standard.
In a text message over the phone, he wrote, "Both sides have reached an agreement. The blockade has been withdrawn. Vehicular movement has resumed."
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Meanwhile, the protesters said they held a meeting with DEPZ authorities and the law enforcers assured the workers that the dues, including service benefits, would be paid within the next 3 months.
Following the meeting, the workers lifted the blockade from the road at 4:20pm.
Speaking on the matter to The Business Standard, BEPZA Executive Director (public relations) Anwar Parvez said, "As far as I know, the authorities have asked for three months time, during which the factory will be sold by auction and the dues of all the workers will be paid."
"The workers have been asked to submit their documents from 2 December, because the verification of these documents is also a time-consuming matter," he added.
Earlier yesterday, the workers blocked the Nabinagar-Chandra Road demanding their unpaid wages.
Today, in addition to blocking the road, they also did not allow anyone to enter the DEPZ, causing the activities of all industrial units located in the old part of DEPZ to be halted.
Traffic on both sides of the road had been on halt causing severe congestion in the area.
According to Ansar members stationed at the gate of DEPZ, although workers of different factories arrived in the morning to join work, they were unable to enter their factories due to obstruction from the protesting workers.
The workers had to return from the DEPZ gate, an Ansar member said.
