Beximco, Dorin workers block Gazipur road, traffic halted

Tuesday is the second day of protests for workers at Dorin Fashions Limited and the fourth day for Beximco Industrial Park workers

Workers at the Beximco Industrial Park and Dorin Fashion Limited have once again blocked the Chandra-Nabinagar road in Gazipur.

The workers blocked the road at two points on Tuesday morning, bringing traffic to a halt and causing congestion, according to Saiful Islam, chief of Kashimpur Police Station.

The Dorin workers began their protest in the Jirani area around 8am, while the Beximco workers started their protest at 9:30pm.

Dorin workers are on their second day of protests calling for the factory to be reopened. The Beximco workers are on their fourth day of demonstrations to demand their back pay for October.

Afzal Hossain, a Beximco factory worker, said: “We have not received our wages at the designated time since Oct 5. The month after that has nearly come to an end and we have yet to get our wages for October. It is very difficult to provide for your family if you don’t get your salary.”

Shamima Akhter, another worker, said: “Our protest will continue until we get our wages. We will return to work as soon as the back pay is paid.”

Factory authorities have closed several factories in the Sarabo and Jirani areas indefinitely amid the Beximco unrest.

The Dorin Fashion Limited factory is one of those closed. The factory’s workers took up positions in the Jirani area on Monday to demand that it be reopened. The protesting workers demonstrated until 11pm before returning home. They blocked the road again on Tuesday morning.

Aminul, an operator for Dorin Fashion, said that authorities closed the factory indefinitely on Nov 1. Though the factory reopened on Sunday, it was closed again in the afternoon.

When workers returned again on Monday, they heard that it was closed indefinitely.

“There was no trouble at our factory, so why is it still closed?” he asked. “We are protesting to demand that it be reopened.”

Agitated Beximco and Dorin workers set fire to a garment factory called Amazon Knit on Monday afternoon after its workers refused to join their protests.

At least 10 garment factories in the Kashmipur and Jirani areas were closed on Tuesday amid the protests, said Saiful Islam, chief of the local police station.

The workers have once again taken up positions on the road, as they have for several days now, he said. This has brought traffic to a halt on the road.

Local police and industrial police have been deployed nearby, Saiful added.