The garment workers started protesting in the Targach area of Gazipur on Saturday morning demanding payment of salary in new scale.
The workers of Moonlight Garments Ltd and Ehsan Garments started protesting in the Targach area under the Gacha police station from 8am.
Sub-inspector Sharmin, a duty officer of Gacha police station, confirmed the matter.
Labour leader Azizul Islam said that the workers of the two factories have been protesting with a demand for a wage hike for hundreds of garment workers rearranging with the government-announced new scale.
Moonlight Garments Ltd And Ehsan Garments Senior Admin Officer Ataur Rahman could not be reached over the phone for comment in this regard.
Meanwhile, about seven hundred workers of Meigo Bangladesh (Bay-Economic Zone) Ltd started protesting by blocking the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Konabari area around 7:30am with their six-point demand.
Gridlock was formed as vehicular movement on Dhaka-Tangail highway remained suspended for over an hour.
According to the factory sources, about 400 workers entered the factory at 7:30am and approximately 200-250 workers stayed on the side of the Dhaka Tangail highway with their 6-point demands
At one stage, they blocked the highway.
Mentioning their six-point demand, the workers said: "The workers have to be included in Grade 1 from Grade 4 as per the new pay scale announced by the government. The pay scale is to be determined as per Schedule A and Schedule B. The rate of overtime shall be calculated as per the government rules and workers agitating for their rights should not be laid off."
The other demands include an eight-hour duty time instead of ten hours.
Admin Manager of Meigo Bangladesh (Bay-Economic Zone) Lt Mohd Khalid Hasan said that the salary of the workers has been increased but they did not like it. He also said that efforts are underway to resolve the matter.
Mohammad Ziaul Islam, OC, Konabari Police Station, said that in the morning, some workers protested in front of the Bay-Economic Zone.
A long tailback has been created on both sides of the Dhaka-Tangail highway following the demonstration.
However, vehicular movement normalized as police drove the demonstrating workers away from the highway after assuring them of taking steps regarding their demands.
Gazipur Industrial Police-2, Additional Superintendent of Police (Operation and Intelligence) Md Imran Ahmed said that the workers have been protesting for the past few days. They are continuing that movement even on Saturday.
