15 injured after Bangladeshi and Chinese power plant workers clash over wages

Patuakhali [Bangladesh]: At least 15 workers and security guards were injured in a clash between Bangladeshi and Chinese workers due to dissatisfaction over salaries and allowances at the construction site of the Rural Power Company Limited’s 1,320 MW power plant in the Dhankhali area Kalapara sub-unit of Patuakhali district, The New Age reported.

The power plant is being constructed to generate Coal-based heat electricity.

The power plant’s office and several vehicles were also vandalized during the clash. The Kalapara police along with the district sub-unit officer went to the spot and managed to bring the situation under control, and additional police were deployed to the spot, The New Age reported.

New Age is a Dhaka-based leading English language daily newspaper started in June 2003. It reports on the political, economic and cultural issues in Bangladesh.

Four Bangladeshi workers named Obaidul, Shaheen Molla, Rakibul Islam and Zidan were seriously in the clash. They were first admitted to Kalapara sub-unit health complex and later shifted to Barisal Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital for further treatment.

The injured informed that the protest was about the deduction of their salaries in the name of service charges. They had been complaining about the same for a long time before they finally protested about the matter, The New Age reported.

“We started protesting as the authorities did not accept our demand, which led to a clash,” one of the hospitalised workers said.

However, the situation is under control with the immediate strict action taken by the local administration.

“We are trying to talk to the workers to resolve the issue,” the project director and chief engineer of RPCL power plant Tawfiq Islam said, The New Age reported.

Kalapara police station officer-in-charge Ali Ahmed said that the situation is normal now and additional police have been deployed there. Legal action will be taken if any written complaint is filed.