The majority of factories in the industrial zone of Savar’s Ashulia remain open, with workers carrying on their tasks peacefully.
Factory authorities announced the closure of at least 19 garment factories in Savar and Ashulia industrial areas due to various demands on Wednesday (25 September).
Among these, five factories were closed for general holidays, while 14 were shut down under section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006.
Police Superintendent of Industrial Police-1 Md Sarwar Alam, stated, "Today's overall situation is largely normal. Fourteen factories are closed under section 13(1) of the Labour Act, and they will be reopened. Besides, five factories have been declared general holidays, four of which are in EPZ. Most of the closed factories are facing financial difficulties."
According to the Industrial Police-1, most of the closed factories are ready-made garment factories, though some other types of factories are also affected.
The closures have primarily been attributed to financial difficulties and other issues.
To maintain control over the situation, additional security forces have been deployed, and surveillance has been intensified.
Army, APBn, and police personnel are stationed in front of various factories in the Narsinghpur area of the Bypile-Abdullahpur road in Ashulia. Additionally, army, RAB, BGB, and police members are patrolling the roads.
There are 1,863 factories under the jurisdiction of Industrial Police-1, the majority of which are garment factories.
In recent days, workers in various factories within the industrial zone have been staging protests and work stoppages over their demands, leading to several factories halting operations almost daily.
Most recently, a meeting between garment factory owners and workers was held at the Ministry of Labour and Employment to address ongoing labour unrest.
In the meeting, both parties agreed on 18 demands, announcing that all factories across the country would reopen from today.
Following this decision, all factories in Ashulia industrial zone have resumed operations.
The industrial area of Ashulia is now bustling with activity, and no reports of untoward incidents have been received so far.
