Two hour after lifting the blockade, workers from five garment factories of the TNZ Group in Gazipur once again blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway.

After 53 consecutive hours, the workers lifted their blockade around 2:30 pm on Monday, the third day of the protest, following an assurance of wages from government officials, but just two hours later, a group of workers returned to the same spot, reiterating their demand for payment.

The workers stated that the blockade would persist until the delegation returns from Dhaka, where they went to discuss the wage issue with the government.

Earlier, workers announced to end their blockade of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway at 2:30 pm on Monday, following government assurances to resolve their overdue wages and allowances.

Gazipur Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Ershad Miah along with army officials visited the site to address workers’ concerns, prompting them to lift the blockade after the administration formally pledged to resolve the outstanding wage issues.

The army, police, and administration held talks with the workers, and a delegation was taken to Dhaka to resolve their salary issue.

Following assurances from the administration, the workers cleared the highway, and traffic resumed on the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway around 2:30 pm.

However, by 3:30 pm, the workers once again blocked the same area, causing severe traffic jams on both sides of the highway.

Workers from five garment factories of the TNZ Group in Gazipur began blocking the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway on Saturday morning, demanding the payment of overdue wages and allowances, along with the reopening of closed factories.

Public life in Gazipur was brought to a standstill by the 53-hour blockade of one of the country’s busiest highways.

Meanwhile, the labour ministry initiated a meeting on Monday evening with factory owners’ representatives and a 30-member delegation of workers to resolve the crisis.

Labour secretary AHM Shafiquzzaman said that that he hoped the crisis would be resolved by Monday night.

According to sources from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the authorities of 27 factories declared their units closed for Monday to prevent potential vandalism amid the ongoing labour unrest within the TNZ Group.

According to a report from the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments, wages for September and October remained unpaid, amounting to approximately Tk 15 crore across five factories in the group.

The payment date for the wages has been rescheduled four times, but has been missed on each occasion, it said.

DIFE report said that since October 27 workers have intermittently blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh road, demanding guarantees regarding the payment of their wages and allowances.

The Gazipur office of the DIFE had held multiple meetings with the owners, workers, and labour leaders in an attempt to resolve the issues through a compromise agreement.

However, the non-payment of dues as per the owners’ agreement, along with the failure to pay regular wages and allowances, has led to widespread worker dissatisfaction, the DIFE report mentioned.

It also said that several cases have been filed in the Gazipur Labour Court under Sections 121 and 123 of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 for the non-payment of regular wages and allowances in the five factories of TNZ group.