Workers of the RAK Ceramic Factory have blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Sreepur, Jaipur, demanding 10 points, including unpaid salaries. This has caused long traffic jams on both sides of the highway. Thousands of passengers are stranded. Several hundred factory workers started the protest by taking up positions in the Jaina Bazar area of Gazipur Union of the upazila from 6:30 am on Sunday.
Workers clashed with law enforcement agencies to remove the workers from the highway. Police fired tear gas and sound grenades to disperse the students.
Later, the workers moved off the road around 9 am. Then traffic started. The situation was tense there till the time of writing this report at 10:30 am.
Factory workers said that seven months of salaries and allowances are arrears. The factory authorities are making our workers go around like this, not today, but tomorrow. Why are the factory authorities not paying us our fair dues? Our family cannot survive on the fixed salary. The factory workers have been forced to take to the streets. We will return after meeting our demands. The workers have announced that they will not leave the streets until their 10-point demands are met.
The factory’s human resources officer Md. Abdur Razzak said, “Discussions are underway with the higher authorities of the factory regarding the 10-point demands. The workers have blocked the road without listening to us.”
Sreepur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Abdul Barik said, “Upon receiving the news, the police and industrial police members went to the spot and tried to persuade the workers to leave. But at that time, the workers hurled brickbats at the police. Tear gas and sound grenades were thrown to disperse them.
