Bangladeshi clothing manufacturers closed 150 factories this Saturday “indefinitely” as the textile sector faces rising wage demands, leading police to book 11,000 protesting workers, authorities announced.
The poor South Asian country has been rocked since last month by violent protests by textile workers demanding higher wages, which have left at least three people dead and more than 70 factories looted or damaged, according to police.
This week, the textile sector’s minimum wage committee proposed a 56.25% increase in the basic monthly salary for the industry’s four million workers, bringing it to 12,500 taka (about 104 euros). This amount is considered “ridiculous” and is immediately rejected by the unions.
On Thursday, about 15,000 workers clashed with police on the highway and looted Tusuku, a large garment factory, and a dozen others.
“Police have opened a case against 11,000 unidentified people after the attack on the Tusuk garment factory,” Inspector Mosharraf Hossain told French news agency AFP.
Bangladeshi police often bring charges against thousands of people, without identifying them, following demonstrations and political violence. Critics say the tactics are a way to suppress opponents.
Police told AFP that 150 factories had closed in the main industrial towns of Ashulia and Ghazipur, north of the capital Dhaka, as manufacturers feared more strikes at the start of Bangladesh’s work week, which marks today.
“Industrialists have invoked Article 13/1 of the Labor Code and closed 130 factories in Ashulia indefinitely, claiming that these are illegal strikes,” Sarwar Alam, chief of police at the manufacturing hub, told AFP.
The wage protests pose a major challenge to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who has ruled the country with an iron fist since 2009.
A resurgent opposition is questioning Hasina’s authority as she faces elections scheduled for late January.
Bangladesh’s 3,500 garment factories account for about 85% of the country’s $55 million in annual exports and supply many of the world’s leading brands such as Levi’s, Zara and H&M.
However, working conditions for many of the industry’s four million workers, the vast majority of whom are women, are deplorable.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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