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The interim government rejected the plea of BEXIMCO workers to allow banking operations by the company's textile and garment units on the ground that they have huge default loans.
The response came after workers of 16 companies held a conference to press home for reopening of their bank accounts.
Earlier, the government found evidence of money laundering and willful loan defaults against BEXIMCO (Bangladesh Export Import Company Limited) Group companies and froze bank accounts of 16 textile and garment units of the conglomerate.
The suspension of bank accounts hampered the business activities of those companies, which in turn forced them to shut their operations.
Eventually, BEXIMCO stopped paying salaries to workers, triggering labour unrest in the Beximco Industrial District of the country.
Workers of Beximco held a series of demonstrations against the government decision.
On Thursday morning, some protestors, who claimed themselves as representatives of 42,000 workers, arranged a press conference in the capital and asked the government to reopen the bank accounts so that their salaries could be disbursed.
"We are in a grave crisis. Our future is uncertain. We are unable to make a living, failing to pay school fees for our children," said Abdul Kaiyum, one among the protesters.
They demanded that the government reopen the factories (4 spinning and dyeing, 11 garments, and 1 washing plant), reopen the frozen bank accounts, and facilitate payment of their salaries.
In the afternoon, Labour Adviser M Sakhawat Hussain ruled out the possibility of immediate reopening of the factories.
"It cannot happen now," he said at a press conference at the secretariat.