According to local sources, the unrest began at around 10 am when workers on the fourth and fifth floors of News Garments in the Nishchintapur area of Ashulia stopped working to press their demands for increased wages. Following the lunch break, workers from other sections of the factory also joined the work stoppage, bringing normal production activities to a halt.
Workers at Knit Asia staged a similar protest after midday, refusing to work and remaining inside the factory premises. Employees of New Age Garments also observed a work stoppage throughout the day over the same demand.
The simultaneous protests at several factories disrupted industrial operations across parts of the garment-producing area. Tensions rose further in the evening when a group of workers from the protesting factories gathered outside Ananta Garments Limited in Narsinghpur after their shifts had ended.
The demonstrators called on workers at Ananta Garments to stop working and come outside to join the movement. The situation subsequently turned confrontational. At one stage, protesters threw bricks and stones at the factory’s main entrance, damaging the gate. An incident of arson was also reported at the site.
The incident caused concern in the surrounding area, prompting the factory authorities to take immediate action. Using the factory’s own water supply system, officials managed to bring the fire under control before industrial police arrived.
Police personnel subsequently reached the scene and dispersed the protesters, restoring order in the area. Once the situation had stabilised, the management of Ananta Garments Limited announced a holiday at the factory as a precautionary measure.
Mohammad Mominul Islam, Superintendent of Police of Industrial Police-1, confirmed the incident, saying officers had responded after receiving reports of demonstrations and arson outside Ananta Garments in Narsinghpur.
He said police had brought the situation under control and removed the demonstrators from the area. He also confirmed that workers at two factories had been observing work stoppages since the morning.
According to the police official, the situation was normal at the time of his statement. Additional police personnel had been deployed around the factories to prevent further disturbances and maintain security.
The incident highlights continuing tensions over wages and working conditions in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry, one of the country’s most important sources of employment and export earnings.
Ashulia, in the Savar industrial belt near Dhaka, is home to numerous garment factories employing large numbers of workers. Disruptions in production in the area can affect factory operations and create challenges for the wider manufacturing and supply chain.
Wage disputes are a recurring source of tension in the sector, where workers’ demands for better remuneration must be addressed alongside concerns over production costs and the industry’s competitiveness in international markets.
While Thursday’s protests centred on demands for higher wages, the exact amount sought by the workers was not specified in the available information. There was also no immediate confirmation of any agreement between factory management and the protesting workers.
With additional police deployed around the affected factories, authorities are seeking to prevent further unrest and ensure that industrial operations can return to normal. A constructive dialogue between workers and factory management will be important in addressing the grievances and preventing similar incidents in the coming days.
