Workers protest in Bangladesh demanding wage hike, 26 garment factories shut

POBNEWS24, DHAKA, OCT 31, 2026 : Several thousand garment workers from several factories have protested in Ashulia demanding a minimum wage of Tk 30,000 for workers in the ready-made garment sector and an end to blacklisting. Following the incident, the authorities have declared 26 garment factories closed for safety reasons.
Around noon on Saturday, several thousand workers from several factories including Naeem Knitwear and New Age Factory in Kathgarh and Nishchintapur areas of Ashulia took to the nearby roads to protest.
Later, the situation became heated when workers from several other factories joined in.
At this time, traffic on the Bypail-Jirab road was closed for some time. On receiving the information, the police first asked them to leave the road. When the agitating workers did not leave the road, the police chased them and dispersed them and brought the situation under control.
At that time, a policeman was injured by a brick thrown by the workers and some workers were injured in the stampede.
According to the industrial police, the workers of Naeem Knitwear first went on strike at the factory since morning. Later, they left the factory and started protesting. At one point, the protesting workers threw bricks and stones at some nearby factories. Later, the police came and chased them and fired tear gas to disperse them. Later, the situation came under the control of the police.
After this incident, the police have been kept on alert to monitor the situation.