Workers from the Beximco Industrial Park in Gazipur have blocked the Chandra-Nabinagar highway today, demanding payment for their October salaries, which are still unpaid.
The protest began around 8:30 am in front of the main gate of the industrial park. By 10 am, the workers had moved to the Chakraborty intersection, stopping traffic on both sides of the highway.
As a result, long traffic jams have formed, stretching for up to 10-15 kilometers, causing major delays for drivers and commuters.
Many people were seen trying to find other ways to get to their destinations.
Police from Gazipur and the industrial area, along with some army personnel, are at the scene trying to convince the workers to end the blockade.
However, as of 2 pm, the workers were still blocking the road.
The workers explained that for the past few months, they have had to protest every month to receive their wages.
Although other factories around the Beximco Industrial Park have paid their workers, the employees at Beximco have not received their October salaries and allowances yet.
Around 41,000 workers at the park usually get paid between the 7th and 10th of each month.
However, since the mass protests in August, the owners of the factories, including Salman F Rahman, have not been around to ensure the workers are paid on time.
The workers had started their protest on Thursday, November 14th, and took a break on Friday, which is a holiday, before continuing today.
Gazipur Industrial Police 2 Superintendent Md Sarwar Alam said that Beximco management had promised to pay the workers by Sunday, November 17th, but the workers rejected that deadline and kept up the blockade.
Police and army personnel are working hard to handle the situation and hope to resolve it soon.
