All shuttered readymade garment factories in Ashulia industrial zone, which had halted production amid labour unrest, reopened their doors on Wednesday.
This latest resumption means that nearly 120 closed apparel-manufacturing units have revived operations in Gazipur and Ashulia industrial zones over the past three days, according to apparel manufacturers and industrial police.
However, around 10 to 12 factories in Mirpur remained closed on Wednesday, which industry people said may resume operations today (Thursday).
Most of the around 130 closed factories in Ashulia and Gazipur — the epicentre of the labour unrest — resumed apparel manufacturing in phases from Monday this week.
Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the Ashulia factories resumed operations after workers expressed their willingness to return to production lines and after owners assured a smooth functioning.
In a press release on Wednesday, the BGMEA president said, “Production is now going on in the factories and there is no record of any labour unrest.”
Mr Hassan said there were two days of discussions over reopening the closed factories in Mirpur on Tuesday and Wednesday. Workers, rights organisations, local political leaders, the administration, industrial police and mass media all confirmed that workers in those factories want to join their posts.
“Therefore, the closed garment factories in Mirpur and all other places will be reopened on Thursday,” he said. Garment workers walked out of production lines and gathered in factory areas and highways demanding a wage hike to Tk 23,000. They engaged in clashes with security forces, resulting in factory damages and the deaths of at least four apparel workers.
To quell the escalating unrest, around 130 factories in Ashulia and Gazipur were forced to close, with the manufacturers implementing a “no work, no pay” policy — a provision stipulated in the labour law.
As the government finalised Tk 12,500 as the minimum apparel wage on November 12 and the prime minister asked the workers to return to work, the labour situation began to normalise.
