Bangladesh Protests Update:- Protests are taking place in Bangladesh. On Monday, thousands of garment workers blocked a main highway and clashed with the police. Thousands of workers from garment factories had taken to the streets on Sunday, demanding better wages. Protesters set fire to a police vehicle and attacked police personnel.
As the situation escalated, police in Dhaka took 19 individuals into custody. The workers are demanding that their minimum wage be more than doubled. After China, Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest exporter of garments, producing clothing for many major international brands.
What are the workers’ demands?
The workers are demanding that their minimum monthly wage be increased to 30,000 Bangladeshi Taka. In Gazipur, protesters blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway. Five platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh were deployed to bring the situation under control. There are approximately 4,000 registered garment factories in Bangladesh, employing over 4 million people.
Protests across the country
In Gazipur, north of the capital Dhaka, hundreds of workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway and vandalised several vehicles. Meanwhile, in the Mirpur area, a large number of people took to the streets; police dispersed the protesters by firing tear gas shells.
These protests come just after the government announced on Sunday that it would set up a ‘wage board’ to review the minimum wage in the garment industry. This sector is vital to Bangladesh, as it employs millions of people and generates the bulk of the country’s export earnings.
What minimum wage are the workers demanding?
The protesters are demanding a monthly salary of 30,000 taka, which is more than double their current pay. In Indian currency, this amounts to approximately 23,000 rupees. According to Kalpona Akter of the ‘Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity’, workers currently earn around 13,000 taka per month.
Many factories have declared a shutdown.
No representative from the factory management has come forward to discuss the workers’ demands. As tensions escalated, several factories declared a shutdown. Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, has appealed to the workers to return to work.