Workers of NASSA Group block road for four hours

The workers have withdrawn the protest after assurances that a decision will be taken regarding their demands

Garment workers of the NASSA Group, who were staging protests on the road in Dhaka’s Tejgaon demanding salary and allowances, have cleared the road after four hours.

They left the road around 2pm on Sunday, when assured of reaching a solution through talks, said Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station chief (OC) Md Mahmudur Rahman.

Earlier, around 10am, 700-800 workers gathered in front of the NASSA Group office on Tejgaon Link Road and began staging a protest.

Later, around 11am, when they blocked the main road near Mohakhali-Nabisco, traffic came to a halt on both sides of the road. This led to traffic jams on surrounding roads. At one stage, after about half an hour, the main road was cleared at the request of the police and the traffic flow returned to normal. But the protesters continued to stand in front of the NASSA Group office.

OC Mahmudur said that Labour Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury went to talk to the workers after receiving news of the protest.

He said, "The minister came and talked to the workers. In view of the workers' demands, there will be a meeting between the owners, workers and the government at the ministry tomorrow. The workers have withdrawn the protest and returned with the assurance that a decision will be taken on their demands at the meeting."

He also said that the situation is currently normal. Earlier, a Facebook post by the Gulshan Division Traffic Department had said that traffic movement on both sides of the Tejgaon-Mohakali route was closed due to the workers' protest.

At that time, people were asked to use the elevated expressway and the Mohakhali flyover as an alternative.

The authorities also asked people to travel from Kakoli to other destinations via the Gulshan-Naton Bazar route.