Gazipur garment factory shuts down indefinitely amid worker unrest

A factory of Honeywell Garments Ltd, located in the Konabari Ambag area of Gazipur, have been declared closed indefinitely by their authorities following worker protests.

The factory authorities hung a closure notice on the main gate yesterday evening. When workers arrived for duty this morning (25 November) and found the gate locked, tension quickly escalated.

According to workers, the factory employs around 1,200 workers. A group of workers reportedly became agitated after seeing the closure notice and blocked the Mitali Club-Konabari New Bazar branch road, forcing all vehicles to turn back. 

Gazipur Metropolitan Police and Industrial Police rushed to the spot and brought the situation under control.

Superintendent of Police Mohammad Amzad Hossain of Gazipur Industrial Police-2 said, "The shutdown notice was issued by the owners following the labour unrest. The situation was a bit heated in the morning. We brought the situation under control. Discussions are underway with both workers and owners." 

The closure notice, signed by the assistant general manager (admin and finance) of Honeywell Garments Ltd, said workers yesterday raised "irrational demands" and illegally halted production by forming groups, creating "extreme chaos and instability" inside the factory and "severely disrupting law and order". 

It further mentioned that the disruption hampered scheduled export activities, causing "major financial losses" to the company. Despite repeated requests from authorities to resume work, workers refused, which the factory termed tantamount to an illegal strike.

The notice added that the factory would reopen only when a favourable and stable situation is restored, and the reopening date would be communicated later through another notice. Security personnel and maintenance staff were exempted from the closure order.