How nightmare on Gazipur highway cripples businesses, triggers untold sufferings

Infographic: TBS

For a second consecutive day, hundreds of garment workers blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway yesterday, demanding unpaid wages from TNZ Apparels, which operates six apparel factories in Gazipur. 

The protest caused severe traffic disruptions, virtually disconnecting Dhaka from Tangail and Mymensingh and leaving long-haul buses and container trucks carrying export cargo stranded in massive tailbacks.

While large container trucks carrying export-import cargoes and long-haul buses remained stuck in long queues since Saturday morning, protesting workers, many staying the whole day and overnight, refused to withdraw the blockade until they are paid two months' arrears.

Gazipur Industrial Police-2 Superintendent Sarwar Alam said around 30 other factories in the area were shut down to prevent further unrest.

He said the police along with the army were trying to convince the workers to withdraw the blockade and expected a solution from the initiative being taken by the apparel association and the labour directorate.

According to Gazipur Industrial Police and worker sources, six factories under TNZ Apparels Limited Group in the Maleker Bari area of Gazipur city have outstanding wages for September and October.

Protesting workers said the factories had been closed since April and, although operations resumed later, management started delaying payment for two months of wages.

They said despite several mediation efforts led by police and military officials, the latest agreed-upon deadline of 7 November came and went without payment.

A worker, Abul Kalam, said, "The management keeps making promises and then doing nothing. We've been waiting for our wages for months. We won't leave until we're paid."

"Even we cannot trust the owner any more. How can we assure the workers that they will get their dues and ask them to go home?" the Industrial Police Superintendent Sarwar Alam said on Sunday afternoon.

Attempts to get a statement from TNZ Apparels Limited management were unsuccessful.

The industrial hub near the capital Dhaka experienced a series of worker unrest that badly hampered the largest export sector in August and September. 

The interim government and the apparel industry associations managed to put those to an end, but the problem remains in small pockets involving one or a few factories who fail to pay workers' wages.

But every time the highways become the common choice for agitators, costing public life and businesses heavily since highways are the lifeline.

The labour ministry under the interim administration has instructed law enforcement to address workers' legitimate grievances with compassion but to take a firm stance against anyone found inciting unrest.

Labour and Employment Adviser Asif Mahmum Shojib Bhuyain at a meeting yesterday said they were trying to help the owners pay workers' wage, but working out an immediate solution is a complex issue.  

Blockade enters second day

Tailbacks stretched roughly 20km on both directions on the highway – from Tongi to Rajendrapur on one side and beyond Konabari on Dhaka-Tangail highway.

It had already been 32 hours since the blockade was put and Gazipur police were directing alternative routes and diversions – from Vogra and Tongi station road urging vehicles to take Dhaka bypass and 300 Feet road using Kanchan bridge.

Though smaller and local vehicles were reaching destinations by alternative roads, large container trucks carrying goods to and from Chattogram Port remained stranded on the highway.

Most of the vehicles stuck in the traffic jam were either goods carriers or passenger buses. Many of these left for their destinations the previous night but became trapped in the gridlock, unable to move forward.

Among the stranded goods carriers, there were also trucks carrying perishable items. Many passengers left their buses to walk or find alternate means to reach their destinations, leaving many vehicles stranded in the traffic without passengers.

What happened with TNZ Apparels

TNZ Apparels, part of TNZ Group, began its apparel export operations in 2007, expanding steadily over the years, according to the company's website.

Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Sarwar Alam said the company is managed by two owners, one of whom is currently abroad.

The owner who remains in the country is reportedly seeking government assistance to resolve the crisis, specifically requesting Tk11-Tk12 crore from the government to clear two months of unpaid wages.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) lists Shahadat Hossain Shamim as the managing director of TNZ Apparels. 

According to a senior BGMEA official, Shamim has been residing in Saudi Arabia for an extended period, leaving the company's administration under-resourced and struggling to operate effectively.

Despite giving assurances in multiple meetings with BGMEA representatives, TNZ's management has reportedly failed to fulfil wage commitments to its workers on at least 13 separate occasions, most recently promising to clear dues by 9 November. 

Previous assurances included paying September's wages by 7 November and October's within 15 additional days, but these deadlines were also unmet, added the official. 

"TNZ management has now appealed for funds from the central labour welfare fund to pay wages. However, this fund was established to support workers' welfare, not to cover individual factory debts, as directed by the Bangladesh Bank," he said. 

Under labour rules, banks deduct 0.03% from the export value of all export-oriented garment industries and transfer it to this central fund.

The BGMEA official questioned the owner's motives, suggesting that the situation might be an attempt to create pressure on the interim government or disrupt the industrial zone's stability. 

He added that TNZ's owners might have to lease or sell assets to fulfil the company's obligations.

BGMEA data reveals that TNZ Apparels employs over 5,000 workers. Hedayet Ullah, serving as chairman of the factory, maintains that he holds no shares in the company.