Bangladesh: Garment workers clash with police during protests

Thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh, who have been protesting for a week to demand a near-tripling of wages, clashed with police on Saturday (Nov 4) near the capital city of Dhaka as garment factories reopened in defiance of the protest. According to a report by the news agency AFP, the clashes broke out in the industrial town of Ashulia, west of Dhaka, after around 10,000 workers attempted to prevent their colleagues from returning to their shifts.

Speaking to AFP, Ashulia police chief Mohammad Sarowar Alam said that the striking garment workers hurled stones and bricks at officers and tried to block roads. "We dispersed them by firing tear gas," Alam said, adding that 1,500 security personnel had been deployed in Ashulia and nearby Savar to keep order.

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On Monday, protests were also held in Ashulia, Gazipur and Hemayetpur.

Protests halt production for top fashion brands

There are a total of 3,500 garment factories in Bangladesh which account for around 85 per cent of the country's $55 billion exports, supplying many of the top global brands including Zara, Levi's and H&M.

Since the beginning of the protests, dozens of factories have been ransacked by the protesting workers, and several hundred other factories have been shut down by their owners to avoid vandalism.

Among them are "many of the country's bigger factories, who make clothing for almost all major Western brands and retailers," Kalpona Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF), told AFP.

"They include Gap, Walmart, H&M, Zara, Inditex, Bestseller, Levi's, Marks and Spencer, Primark and Aldi," Akter added.

Garment workers have said that a sharp increase in living costs has left them struggling to provide for their families. AFP reported on Saturday that the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), which represents factory owners, has offered workers a 25 per cent pay raise.

However, this is significantly short of the $209 (23,000 taka) monthly wage that the protests called for.

Akter also told the news agency that brands and retailers only care about smooth shipments and profits, and are not concerned about the well-being of the workers, many of whom are half-starving.

(With inputs from agencies)