As a garment worker, I see how the interim government is ignoring our sacrifices

Ram Prasad Singh (40), a garment worker, worked at Style Craft Limited’s factory in Gazipur. An unmarried man, Ram Prasad, lived with his brother and sister-in-law’s family, contributing some of his earnings to their household. But due to months of unpaid wages, he became a burden to the family. His physical and mental health suffered immeasurably from the stresses of severe poverty and an uncertain future. It was in this state of despair that he joined the recent protests. Workers, including Ram Prasad, held a continuous sit-in in front of the Srama Bhaban (Labour Secretariat) in the capital’s Bijoy Nagar for more than a week. On March 24th, during this protest, Ram Prasad fell ill suddenly and passed away.

Many have described Ram Prasad’s death as a “structural murder.” This is because thousands of garment workers like Ram Prasad are in anguish due to unpaid wages. Ram Prasad died physically, but many others who have not yet died are living a slow, painful death. For years, garment workers have fought for their wages, enduring beatings at the hands of police and thugs, and many have even lost their lives. These workers live in constant poverty, malnourishment, and prolonged suffering, slowly exhausting their lives.

The stories of millions of workers in Bangladesh’s garment sector are essentially the same. These workers live lives of constant uncertainty, where they are deprived of their rightful wages, factories delay salaries and sometimes shut down without notice, or workers are arbitrarily laid off. Many are subjected to brutal exploitation without overtime pay. When they demand their rightful wages and bonuses, they face police brutality, assault, and legal action. On March 24th itself, when workers attempted to block the Secretariat to demand their unpaid wages and bonuses, the police ruthlessly attacked the workers along with the students and citizens who joined the protest. This brutality was widely reported in the media. As I write this, workers from Style Craft Limited, Apparel Plus Eco Limited, and TNZ Apparels Limited are still protesting in front of the Srama Bhaban, demanding their unpaid wages and bonuses.

On March 6th, in a joint meeting among the government, workers, and factory owners, it was decided that all unpaid wages and Eid bonuses would be paid by March 20th. However, the owners and the government officials failed to implement this on time, causing the workers to take to the streets. With Eid-ul-Fitr approaching in just a few days, workers have become anxious as they have no guarantee of their wages and bonuses. The workers’ pleas for help are not reaching the residence of the Chief Adviser at Jamuna. Instead, the government has resorted to deploying the police to beat the workers into submission.

By Thursday night (March 27th), I learned that some workers of Apparel Eco Plus Limited had received 50 to 80 percent of one month’s wages. However, they still owed them two months of wages and bonuses. On the other hand, workers of TNZ Apparels had not received a single penny, and two months of wages and bonuses were still overdue. Yet, the government’s labour adviser has claimed on television that the owners sold their cars to pay off the workers’ full dues!

Why is the government behaving this way, with crafty and deceitful actions towards the workers? If this is the government’s stance towards the workers, then why did the people overthrow the authoritarian government in the massive uprising just a few months ago? Has the interim government already forgotten the sacrifices of countless working-class people during the uprising?

At least 112 workers lost their lives during the uprising. Thousands were injured, and the majority of the injured and killed were from the garment industry. Yet, after the uprising, there is no discussion of how to improve the lives of these workers. There is no talk about reforming the garment sector, improving workers’ conditions, restructuring wages, or eliminating labour exploitation. 

The workers, alongside students, were one of the largest groups involved in the 2024 uprising. But has anyone thought why they joined the movement? What aspirations did they carry when they stood alongside students, facing bullets from the police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB)? Does the government realise the sacrifices of these workers, or are they conveniently forgetting them?

Solidarity in July and the experience of Gazipur

For garment workers, the entire era of the Awami League’s rule was one of oppression, murder, deprivation, and deception. The struggles of garment workers have repeatedly surfaced through various movements. Just seven months before the uprising, on November 8-9th 2023, workers in Gazipur and Savar staged protests demanding fair wages. In that movement, garment workers Anju Ara, Rasel Howlader, Jalal Uddin, and Mohammad Imran lost their lives at the hands of government forces. There has been no justice for these killings. Previous killings similarly remain unpunished. The constant cycle of murder and oppression had fueled deep resentment among workers. They were seething against the government. The sparks of this fury were frequently visible in Gazipur, Savar, Ashulia, and Mirpur.  

Amidst this, the student-led anti-discrimination movement began in July 2024. When the autocratic Awami League government sought to brutally suppress the rightful movement of students by unleashing the police, RAB, BGB, army and ruling-party thugs — when they indulged in a killing spree — workers could not stand idly by. Those being killed were, for the most part, the children of working-class families. The children of workers, farmers, daily wage labourers, clerks and ordinary employees. They were falling victim to the brutality of government forces while demanding a Bangladesh free of discrimination. Under these circumstances, workers too began to recognise the discrimination, deprivation, and anger that had shaped their own lives for years. They saw an opportunity to respond to the longstanding oppression they had endured. As a result, the students’ and workers’ demands merged, and the student movement of July transformed into a universal struggle against all forms of discrimination.  

The accumulated rage over the four garment worker killings in November 2023 also motivated workers to stand in solidarity with the student movement of July 2024. Unable to tolerate the sight of state forces brutalising students, they, too, joined the uprising. It was the joint force of students and workers that changed the trajectory of the uprising. The unity of students and workers crushed the repression of Hasina’s autocratic government and ensured the victory of the uprising. And in that victory, the working class — particularly garment workers — played a significant role.  

Among the districts close to Dhaka, the government had a particularly wary eye on Gazipur. This was because it was both the country’s largest city corporation and an industrial hub. At the beginning of July, garment workers had not significantly participated in the anti-discrimination movement. However, on July 16th — especially after the killing of Abu Sayed in Rangpur — workers and student activists in Gazipur, Ashulia, Konabari and Tongi held several meetings. These meetings had to be held secretly, sometimes in forests, sometimes in open fields. Eventually, garment workers made the final decision to participate in the movement.  

On the 16th, we planned to print and distribute leaflets in various factories. However, due to police surveillance, no printing press in Gazipur was willing to print them. So, we had to print 10,000 leaflets in Fakirapool. Under the banner of “Students, Workers, and People’s Uprising,” we built solidarity with the anti-discrimination movement in Gazipur. Initially, there was not much visible participation from students in Gazipur. Many lacked the courage to join openly. But when workers took to the streets on July 17th, their resistance and protest inspired courage everywhere. On that day, students from various educational institutions in Gazipur took to the streets in processions. The students of DUET, in particular, played a crucial role. On that day, around 10,000 students, workers, and ordinary people gathered in a rally on Gazipur Chowrasta.

The next day, government-backed goons, RAB, police and BGB began raids in homes, educational institutions, and factories to arrest protesters. Instead of creating fear among students and workers, these actions only fuelled more anger and resentment. Students, workers, and the general public took control of the main roads and alleys of Gazipur.  

On July 18th, the police and RAB launched a brutal attack on Gazipur Chowrasta. Military helicopters fired at protesters from above. A garment worker named Nazrul Islam was shot and killed that day. Many workers were injured. This not only ignited further outrage but also led to increased government repression. Government forces began raiding neighbourhoods, entering homes, and conducting mass arrests. This forced 26 of us (worker leaders involved in the movement) to go underground. We continued advancing the movement from hiding.  

On July 22nd, police rampaged through Joydebpur. They began indiscriminate shooting, tear gassing and mass arrests of students. In response, a few of us sought refuge in a friend’s school in Rajendrapur. Then, the government shut down internet services. From July 25th to August 1st, we distributed leaflets across various parts of Gazipur, including factories and rickshaw garages. The leaflets put forward four demands:  

1. The Prime Minister must apologise and take responsibility for the killing of students and accept all nine demands of the student movement.  

2. The government must ensure justice for the garment workers killed during all protests, and all false cases against students and workers must be withdrawn.  

3. The minimum wage for garment workers must be set at Tk. 30,000. Factory profits must be publicly disclosed. 

4. The government must legally prohibit the use of police and state forces to attack, file cases against, arrest, or harass workers, students and the public for exercising their rights to assemble and protest.

From August 2nd, workers, rickshaw drivers, hawkers and students built movements at Gazipur Chowrasta, Joydebpur, Konabari and Salna. The sheer scale of the unarmed resistance of students and the public in the face of heavy government repression was unprecedented in Bangladesh’s history. The brutality of state forces was exposed in social media and the press. In Ashulia, after killing protesting workers, the authorities burned their bodies. In Konabari, rickshaw driver Hriday was shot dead, and his body was made to disappear. Countless workers were injured and killed. Many bodies were never found. Even today, many workers in Gazipur, Ashulia and Savar remain missing.  

History of student-worker unity and shattered dreams  

History tells us that every mass movement in this country succeeded when students and workers fought together. History shows that when student demands and worker demands merged, major uprisings took place in Bangladesh. The uprising of 2024 was no exception. The united resistance of students and workers against the brutality of state forces toppled the authoritarian regime.  

But after its fall on August 5th, the struggle and sacrifices of the working class were erased from the narrative of the uprising and discussions about the new order. The dreams that workers carried into the July movement, the hopes for a Bangladesh free from the yoke of discrimination, for which they spilled their blood, have been trampled. The post-uprising government has maintained the same exploitative and oppressive system.  

Discussions are being held on what kind of universities students need or what democratic reforms are required. But no conferences or seminars ask what kind of factories workers need. What wages and dignity should be ensured for them? Instead, workers’ movements are being labelled as “conspiracies” to justify repression against them.

Immediately after the uprising, when workers took to the streets demanding fair wages, police shot and killed garment workers Kawsar Khan and Champa Akter. The fact that workers are still being killed in the so-called “new order” is a painful revelation of the interim government’s true nature.  

The rickshaw workers who risked their lives in July, turning their rickshaws into ambulances to support students and the public, saw the government impose restrictions on rickshaw movement after August 5th.  

The garment workers who put their lives on the line for the uprising and sacrificed themselves have had their wage movements labeled as “anti-government activities”. They have been accused of being “allies of the Awami League,” just as the previous government labelled every movement as BNP-Jamaat-backed.  

After August 5th, at least 51 factories in Gazipur were shut down by owners, leaving hundreds of thousands unemployed. If the government had intervened, appointed administrators, and ensured these factories remained operational, would workers have needed to take to the streets?  

The brutal police attack on garment workers on March 24th 2025, has once again proven that the interim government has forgotten workers’ contributions and sacrifices. They have clearly taken a stance against workers.

The repressive nature of state forces remains unchanged

After the uprising, we thought we were finally free from 16 years of misrule. We believed we had earned the freedom to speak, to express opposition. We hoped that labour exploitation would end, that a fair wage structure for workers would be established, and that closed factories would be reopened to increase employment opportunities. We assumed the state would take the initiative to address the inequalities that workers had been subjected to. And even if the state failed, we expected that when worker communities raised these issues, they would be welcomed, and their demands would be taken seriously.

But none of that happened. Instead, the existing system remains intact, with the state prioritising labour exploitation and repression. Fear continues to be a tool for suppressing workers’ legitimate demands. The state and its law enforcement agencies have not changed their view of workers, nor is there any sign of such a change coming.

Let me share a personal experience.

On November 29th, after the uprising, under the banner of “Student-Worker People’s Uprising”, we organised a labour rally at Gazipur’s Bason police station. I was one of the organisers. On the morning of the rally, three men in civilian clothes handcuffed me at Gazipur Chowrasta and forced me into a police van. Their reason? They didn’t like our list of demands.

They first took me to the Bason police station, asked for my name, took my phone, and then threw me into lock-up. I asked, “Why am I being put in lock-up? What is my crime?” I said, “The police’s behaviour remains the same as before. Change your ways.” Hearing this, the duty sub-inspector grabbed my collar and he said, “Do you think the police are weaklings, you son of a bitch? I’ll take off this uniform right now and show you! I don’t care if I lose my job.”

After about an hour in lock-up, the officer-in-charge (OC) summoned me to his office. I was brought in front of his desk, still handcuffed. When I tried to sit down, he yanked my collar and said, “Street beggars like you talking about politics? You son of a bitch!”

They hurled abuse at me, revealing their true nature. I wasn’t given any water to drink, and when I reached for a bottle on the OC’s desk, they shoved me away. The OC yelled, “Who’s paying you, huh? Admit it, you traitor!”

Meanwhile, other police officers mocked me — ridiculing my frail physique, my lack of formal education. They questioned how someone like me, a poor and uneducated man, could be a workers’ representative.

That day, six police officers openly expressed their contempt and class hatred towards me, a stark reminder of where labourers stand in this system.

Only when students and workers surrounded the police station in protest did they finally release me.

Eight months have passed since the uprising. The question remains: Is post-uprising Bangladesh thinking about its workers?

Injured workers have yet to receive proper treatment. There is no guarantee of their livelihood. Without securing fair wages and dignity, workers have no choice but to continue their struggle. Before August 5th, when workers demanded their overdue wages, Sheikh Hasina’s police beat and shot them. Now, after Hasina’s fall, the same thing is happening under Yunus’s government.

This government, too, is making one anti-worker decision after another without providing alternative employment. On the one hand, job discrimination leaves many unemployed, and on the other, those with jobs are denied fair wages. When garment workers demand attendance bonuses, night shift allowances, or lunch stipends, they are accused of being part of an “Awami League conspiracy.”

Every government has used force to suppress workers’ legitimate demands. The state has long prepared for this by creating the Industrial Police to prevent workers from uniting and fostering puppet union leaders to manipulate the labour movement.

There have been discussions about reforming labour laws, and the interim government has even formed a commission for this purpose. However, when protecting the interests of powerful factory owners is the state’s main priority, the question remains: Will this commission’s proposals be thoughtfully considered?●

Arman Hossain, a garment worker, actively participated in the 2024 uprising.