Brahmanbaria Correspondent: Workers and employees of Ashuganj Fertilizer Factory in Brahmanbaria held a protest march and rally demanding the implementation of “One Corporation, One Pay Scale” and uninterrupted gas supply to the factory.
The demonstration took place on Monday (17 November) from 8:30 a.m. and continued for several hours in front of the factory’s main gate. The workers warned that if their demands are not met, they would block the Dhaka–Sylhet highway.
Since 1 March, urea production at Ashuganj Fertilizer Factory has been halted due to a gas supply shutdown, disrupting an average daily output of 1,100 tons of urea, valued at approximately Tk 4.5 crore.
The rally was presided over by Bazlur Rashid, president of the Ashuganj Fertilizer Factory Workers’ Union. Speakers included senior vice president Akhtar Hossain, general secretary Md. Abu Kausar, and organizational secretary of the Bangladesh Chemical Workers Federation, Harunur Rashid.
Abu Kausar, general secretary of the CBA, stated that only technicians and operators are on the wage scale, while the rest receive salaries based on the national pay scale. This dual pay structure is discriminatory, and they demand that technicians and operators be included under the national pay scale by abolishing the existing wage scale.
The workers also called for stopping high-cost urea imports from abroad and resuming urea production at Ashuganj Fertilizer Factory through uninterrupted gas supply. The protest concluded with a march inside the factory premises.
