Twenty-nine garment factories in the Ashulia industrial area were declared closed following continued demonstrations by workers demanding a 15-percent increase in annual increments.

The workers have rejected the government's decision to raise the increment by only 4 percent.

Production in the factories remained suspended due to the ongoing protests, according to sources from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

Of the 29 factories, eight were closed under the "no work, no pay" provision as per section 13(1) of the Bangladesh Labour Act, eight were closed with paid leave for workers, and 13 had to be shut down as the workers either walked out or production was ceased.

However, Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, told The Daily Star that workers of 13 factories stopped working yesterday.

He said 10 factories declared a general holiday yesterday.

Additionally, 11 factories were shut down on Wednesday.

Khairul Mamun Mintu, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Sweater Workers Trade Union Centre, told this newspaper that the workers' demand for an increase in annual increments is justified, and the government's decision is unrealistic.

He added that raising wages by at least 10 percent alongside the annual increment would be a more realistic solution.