50 hurt in RMG worker-cop clash in Gazipur

At least 50 garments workers were injured Wednesday when they clashed with law enforcers on Dhaka-Mymensingh highway in Gazipur demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 8,000.

The one-hour clash erupted around 10:30am when nearly 5,000 workers of Kesopia Sweater Fashion Limited came out of their factory and took to the highway at Monipur in Sadar upazila, reports our Gazipur correspondent quoting Mossarraf Hossain, assistant superintendent of Gazipur Industrial police.

The workers of the factory belonging to Elegance Group have been demonstrating from Tuesday demanding that the authorities fix Tk 8,000 as their minimum monthly salary, the police official said.

The situation deteriorated when the workers of two adjacent factories-- Zahintex Fashion Limited and Givensy Fashion Limited -- joined the agitating workers who were demonstrating blocking the highway, witnesses said.

As police charged batons and lobbed teargas canisters to disperse the agitated workers in a bid to free the highway, workers hurled brick chips, leading to chases and counter-chases.

At least 50 workers were injured during the incident, they added.

When contacted, police said they have no information of any casualty.

Fearing further violence, the authorities of the two nearby factories shut their units for Wednesday.

The traffic movement on the highway came to normalcy around 12:15pm.

On Tuesday, around 10 workers were injured when the workers of the Kesopia factory clashed with police over the same demand.