Online Desk:  A clash has broken out between police and workers at a dyeing factory who blocked the highway in Gazipur’s Sreepur to demand wages under the new pay structure.

Police dispersed the protest with tear gas shells.

The incident occurred on the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway in the Jainabazar area on Saturday morning, said Assistant Superintendent of Police Mohammad Asad of the Industrial Police.

Workers from the AA Yarn Dyeing Limited factory began obstructing the highway around 6 am to demand wages under the new pay structure, he said. This led to severe traffic congestion on the highway.

“We were unable to convince them to leave. At one point we were able to move them, but they returned a half-hour later and began vandalising vehicles,” he said.

“The workers began throwing brickbats at police and police fired tear shells in response. They then left the highway and traffic returned to normal.”

The situation is now peaceful, Asad said.

A worker at the AA Yarn Dyeing Limited factory said that workers had been pushing for several months to have wages set according to the new pay structure and for payments to be made in the first week of the month. But, instead of taking the matter into consideration, the factory authority had only given empty assurances.

Enamul Haque, who works as a factory operator, said, “We demanded pay under the new wage structure announced by the government. We were holding a peaceful protest when police suddenly threw tear gas at us and charged us off the highway.”

“They have raised the wages at all the nearby factories, but whenever we raise the issue of raises, they just give us excuses. That is why we were forced to protest.”