Workers at a garment factory in Tangail’s Mirzapur Upazila have vandalised the factory gate and blocked the highway demanding they receive government-mandated wages and allowances. The protest has led to congestion on 15 km of the Dhaka-Tangail highway.

As of 8:45 pm on Thursday, the blockade was still in place, according to Shakila Binte Matin, the upazila executive officer of Mirzapur. The incident occurred at a factory owned by the Newtex Group of Industries in the Gorai area.

Workers Sajjad Hossain, Sujon Mia, Alamgir Hossain, Taslima Begum and Suraiya Akhtar were among at least 20 workers who allege that Newtex and some other nearby factories have to yet to start implementing the new pay scale set by the government for garment workers, which requires a Tk 12,500 minimum wage. This has led to discontent among workers for the past couple of days.

Local witnesses say that on Thursday night some workers in the Gorai industrial area from the Newtex and Khan garments factories began blocking the highway in the Hatubhanga area in protest.

The agitated workers set fire to tyres and vandalised the factory gate. This led to heavy traffic congestion on either side of the highway, causing serious difficulties for drivers and passengers.

UNO Shakila, Assistant Commissioner (Land) Masudur Rahman, Senior Assistant Superintendent of Police ASM Mansur Musa, chief of Mirzapur Police Station Md Rezaul Karim and chief of Gorai Highway Police Station Molla Md Tutul went to the scene once the incident was reported.

The workers dispersed and the situation returned to normal after the factory administration gave their assurances, Shakila said.

Attempts were made to contact the Newtex Group of Industries for comment, but they did not provide a statement.