Despite calls from the government, labour leaders and factory owners for workers to return to work, 31 readymade garment (RMG) factories have been forced to suspend production on Sunday due to unrest.
The situation in Ashulia has significantly improved on Sunday, with 16 factories closed compared to 38 on Saturday, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
However, 36 factories in Ashulia adopted the "no work, no pay" policy under the Labour Act section 13/1. The unrest spread to the Mirpur area, leading to the closure of 15 factories on Sunday.
According to BGMEA, the ongoing protests began on August 19 at the Dhaka EPZ gate, were initially minor but have escalated.
There are claims that the former Awami League government and neighbouring India might be inciting unrest among workers in Bangladesh's RMG sector, with the aim of destabilising the country's economic backbone.
Industry insiders and government officials stated that the unrest could be part of a broader strategy to create chaos and potentially relocate the vital sector to India. They mentioned that the current pattern of protests is different from those seen in the last one and a half decades.
They further mentioned that similar claims were made during the labour unrest of 2005-06. However, the current demands are seen as weaker, with only a small group causing disruption in the Ashulia and Savar industrial zones.
According to industry insiders, factory workers and law enforcement sources, around 10,000 workers from the NASSA Group began vandalising factories on August 31. They forced other factory owners, including Al-Muslim Group, to shut down and instigated the workers there to join the protests.
This disruption, which involved further vandalism by the NASSA Group workers, led to continued unrest and frequent factory closures in the affected areas.
Adding to the concerns about potential unrest, it is notable that NASSA Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder has close ties with the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Recently, the Bangladesh Bank dissolved the EXIM Bank board, where Mazumder was also chairman, due to financial irregularities.
Earlier, Asif Mahmud, adviser to the labour and employment ministry, said, “All readymade garment factories, which have been shut down due to labour unrest, reopen today and law enforcement agencies will be there to ensure security.” He announced this during a view exchange meeting organised by the BGMEA on Saturday.
“If the industry fails, it will affect not just the owners and workers but all of us. We need to address the significant gap between owners and workers,” the adviser added.
