Gazipur, July 27 (V7N) — Hundreds of workers from RAK Ceramics Ltd staged a protest early Sunday morning in the Jaina Bazar area of Sreepur upazila, blocking the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway for over two hours to demand unpaid salaries and other employment benefits. The protest severely disrupted traffic, causing heavy congestion in both directions and immense suffering for commuters.
 
The demonstration began around 7:00am as workers gathered near the highway, calling for immediate payment of outstanding wages and allowances. Although initially peaceful, the situation escalated when police and industrial security personnel attempted to disperse the crowd. Eyewitnesses report that officers urged the demonstrators to vacate the road, but when negotiations failed, tensions flared.
 
Sreepur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Abdul Barik confirmed that the protest turned violent when workers began throwing brick chips at security forces. In response, police used teargas and sound grenades to disperse the crowd. As of 9:20am, intermittent clashes continued, with running confrontations between law enforcement and demonstrators still unfolding.
 
The latest protest is part of a troubling pattern of labor unrest in Bangladesh’s industrial belt, where factory workers frequently complain of delayed wages, unsafe working conditions, and inadequate access to legal protections.
 
A similar protest occurred on September 4, 2024, when workers from the same factory blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway for nearly five hours, demanding wage increases and structural policy changes. That protest led to a 5-kilometer-long traffic jam on both sides of the highway. It was only called off after army personnel arrived and factory management agreed to discuss the workers’ demands.
 
At that time, the workers presented several specific demands:
 
Annual wage increases each February to match inflation and living costs
 
Removal of all Indian staff from both labor and management roles
 
Assurance that no workers would face harassment or dismissal after resuming work post-protest
 
Amendments to factory policy via official government notifications
 
Despite assurances, workers have claimed that wage adjustments promised in January have not yet been implemented. Salaries are still being disbursed according to the outdated pay structure, prompting today’s escalation.
 
Speaking to local reporters, community members expressed growing concern about the recurring unrest. “Every few months, we’re caught in these situations—traffic blocks, clashes, economic loss. We need a permanent solution,” said one resident of Jaina Bazar. Locals called for fair treatment of workers and for the government and factory authorities to resolve the disputes before they erupt into further chaos.
 
Locales have also questioned the accountability of factory owners who continue to withhold wages, especially under the current government. Some are now asking whether such incidents point to deeper systemic issues in labor governance and industrial regulation in Bangladesh.
 
As of now, RAK Ceramics Ltd has not issued any formal statement in response to the workers’ latest protest or their list of demands. Authorities have indicated that further updates will be provided as the situation unfolds.

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