Workers stage protests over unpaid wages in Bangladesh
Dhaka: The workers of a private firm in Bangladesh’s Dhaka on Sunday staged a protest demonstration while demanding unpaid wages along with other benefits, leading to traffic snarls and blockade of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in the Gazipur region of Dhaka.
The private firm is a joint venture between the United Arab Emirates and a Bangladeshi partner.
The workers began protesting around 7 a.m. on Sunday, leading to the blockade, causing traffic congestion and distress to the people, including passengers and drivers, leaving them ‘stranded for hours’.
The protestors, involving several hundred workers, have presented a list of demands, which includes the payment of seven months’ salary arrears with increment, merit-based recruitment, annual salary adjustment in February, and protection from dismissal during protests.
They also demand fair wage structures, a Taka 500 daily attendance allowance, a Taka 1,500 bonus, and reinstatement of old benefits, including pensions.
The workers said that they have long been denied their rights as well, and their appeals were ignored.
“With no other viable solution, we had to take out the protest and block the roads,” said one of the protesting workers.
Tensions escalated when law enforcement attempted to remove protesters from the road, sparking a series of chases and counter-chases between police and workers.
Inspector Abdul Latif of the Gazipur Industrial Police confirmed that traffic was resumed following the dispersal of protesters using tear gas.
Mohammad Abdul Barik, Officer-in-Charge of Sreepur Police Station, reported that law enforcement initially sought a peaceful resolution, urging the workers to vacate the highway voluntarily. When negotiations failed, officers resorted to non-lethal crowd control methods to restore order and reopen the road.