10 hurt in ‘cop action’ in Ashulia RGM unrest

Sayeed Muhammad of DOT
At least 10 people were injured as police baton charged and used water cannons to disperse the readymade garment workers, who blocked the Dhaka-Tangail Highway in Ashulia yesterday morning.
They gathered there to protest disparity in their new wage structure, reports The Daily Star.
A few more people also suffered minor injuries as the protesting workers threw brick chips targeting the law enforcers.
Hundreds of garment workers took to the streets in Jamgora area of Ashulia, on the outskirts of Dhaka, for the seventh day around 8:00am and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, halting traffic movement.
Police dispersed them by charging batons and using water cannon around 9:30am.
The workers were seen taking position at different points of Ashulia after police dispelled them.
Sana Shaminur Rahman, superintendent of Dhaka Industrial Police-1, said traffic movement started on the highway following police intervention.
“We dispersed the workers by firing tear shell and using water cannon as they blocked at least 10 points of the highway and its adjacent roads, and to avoid any untoward situation,” he said.
Some 51 garment factories of Ashulia areas remained closed yesterday due to the unrest.
Besides, the workers of several garment factories, including Standard Group, in Savar staged demonstration since morning.
Meanwhile, the government announceed a revised wage structure for apparel workers of grades 3, 4 and 5, in efforts to quell the labour unrest that has affected production in the country’s largest forex-earning sector.
At an emergency meeting on Friday, the 20-member crisis management committee formed to resolve the matter agreed in principle to increase the basic pay in those grades.
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association also held an emergency press conference at its Dhaka office yesterday to narrate the production loss, the challenges in shipment, number of factories that are closed and other issues.