Police attack peaceful blockade program of TNZ workers, 20 injured

Police attacked the peaceful blockade program of TNZ Group workers at around 10:30 am in Gazipur today after their promised arrear wages and allowances were not paid for the 3rd time. Worker representatives and locals said that at least 20 workers were injured in the attack. From morning, thousands of workers of eight factories of TNZ Group started a procession from the factory gates and headed towards Gazipur Chowrasta. The procession was proceeding peacefully. The workers took position on the road with slogans filling the streets.

However, after some time, police obstructed them and carried out a massive baton charge to disperse the procession. Eyewitnesses said that the police behavior was "unnecessary and exaggerated." Many of the injured received treatment at local hospitals. It is worth noting that yesterday was the scheduled date for paying the arrear wages and allowances of 5,219 workers of 8 TNZ factories. The Ministry of Labor broke this scheduled promise for the 3rd time. The total dues of the workers amount to Tk 54,12,67,000.

Most workers have 1-3 months of wages and Eid bonuses in arrears, while some workers have not yet been paid their wages and allowances from a year ago. Following continuous protests by workers since March 23 and the payment of partial arrears, the latest tripartite meeting held on April 22 between the Ministry of Labor, the owners, and the workers had set May 7 as the date for paying the arrears. As a result, the workers had announced today's blockade program.