Police today used water cannons to disperse workers from four garment factories in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ), who blocked the Nabinagar-Chandra highway, demanding three months of unpaid wages and the reopening of their closed factories.

Over a thousand workers from South China Bleaching and Dyeing Factory Ltd, Goldtex Ltd, Goldtex Garments Ltd, and Actor Sporting Ltd took positions near the main gate of DEPZ at 10:00am.

Abul Kalam, a worker of Goldtex Garments Ltd, told The Daily Star over phone that the four factories belong to the same owner.

"Wages for August, September, and October remain unpaid. On October 22, the management declared the factories closed indefinitely," he said.

He added that workers had been staging a sit-in in front of the DEPZ main gate demanding payment of arrears and reopening of the factories.

"When we moved to block the highway, police charged batons and used tear gas and water cannons against us. Many of our colleagues were injured" he said.

Contacted around 12:15pm, Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police (SP) of Industrial Police-1 in Ashulia, said, "Workers blocked the highway for half an hour demanding arrears. When police tried to disperse them, they threw brick chips at the officers, injuring one of our members."

"Traffic movement on the highway has now returned to normal, while workers have taken position on the roadside," he added.

When asked about allegations of police baton charge and tear gas, the SP said, "No tear gas was used. Only water cannons were deployed to bring the situation under control."

DEPZ Executive Director Md Shariful Islam told The Daily Star that the four factories, owned by the same group, were declared closed on October 23 due to an order crisis.

"Around 3,000 workers are employed in these factories. Since the closure, we have spoken with the owners several times. They are trying to resume operations with support from banks," he said.

"If the owners fail to clear workers' dues, the authorities will take necessary measures to pay them in line with official regulations, though the process may take some time," he added.

"We are in communication with both the owners and the workers to resolve the issue."