Staff Reporter :
Hundreds of readymade garment workers went on rampage and locked clashes with police at Mirpur in the city on Saturday over payment of arrear salaries.
Traffic movement on Mirpur road came to a halt for nearly two hours following the clash.
As a result, severe traffic jam was created in and around the area for several hours.
Earlier, the workers of the Softex Garments, declared closed on Friday, staged demonstration in front of the garments demanding payment of their arrear salaries.
They asked the authorities to clear their wages on the spot. But the owner of the factory refused to pay and it ignited the workers.
Softex Garments is located on the third to sixth floors of the Haji Kudrat Ali Super Market at Pallabi in the capital.
Later, the agitating workers took to the street and staged sit-in demonstration on the Mirpur-10 to Mirpur-12 road.
At one stage, the unruly workers started vandalising vehicles plying on city street.
Being informed, police went into actions resorting to baton-charge, which triggered a chase and counter-chase. The agitating workers also threw brickbats into the law enforcers.
Ziauzzaman, Officer-in-Charge of Pallabi Police Station, said that the workers of Softex Garments gathered in front of their factory and started demonstration at 9am demanding three-months’ arrear salary.
The workers later took to the street in front of the factory and staged a sit-in there at about 10:45am, he added.
Ziauzzaman further said that the workers also vandalised several vehicles during their protest.
Mohammad Ali, a worker of the factory, said, the authorities didn’t inform us about the closure of our factory. Before closing the factory they were under obligation to pay us our salaries for three months.
“We will carry on our protest unless they meet our demands,” he added.
