Workers of Akij Biri factory in Lalmonirhat's Kaliganj upazila stopped working since morning, protesting lay-off.

Witnesses said over 600 workers of the factory also demonstrated in front of the factory in Hazrania area in the afternoon, reports our Lalmonirhat correspondent.

Talking to reporters, the workers alleged that the factory authorities laid off 10 workers last month as they were involved in movements demanding wage hike.

Today's demonstration came after two workers -- Hafizul Islam and Sumon Islam -- were fired without any reason this morning, the workers said.

They said they would not join work until the factory authorities reinstated the sacked workers.

Factory manager Nasir Uddin told the journalists that all the complaints of the workers were "baseless".

Some workers have been retrenched as they did not follow any factory rules, he said.

The issue of wage hike has been brought to the attention of the factory's higher authorities, he said.

Imtiaz Kabir, officer-in-charge of Kaliganj Police Station, said no untoward incident happened during the protest as law enforcers were deployed at the spot.