Nearly 100 people were injured as thousands of angry Bangladeshi garment factory workers demanding a substantial hike in wages clashed with police for a second day forcing the shutdown of at least 200 units.
"An estimated 40,000 workers came out of their factories and blocked the highway. They threw stones at police, who retaliated with tear gas and rubber bullets," an eyewitness told PTI.
Production at about 200 garment factories in Ashulia and Savar in the outskirts of the capital was suspended as workers demanding a minimum wage of 5,300 Takas (USD 69) clashed with the police for a second day running.
Another group of protesting workers blocked a road in front of Ha-Meem Group in Narsinghpur area. Some agitators set fire to an office room of Next Collection factory, the Daily Star reported.
Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment exporter with over 4,500 factories which account for nearly 80 per cent of the country's USD 27-billion annual exports paying a worker the minimum wage of USD 38 a month.
Labour Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju had said yesterday that the minimum wage would be finalised by November 21. He also urged workers to return to their factories after a meeting with factory owners .
The government had formed a wage board in June this year to revise the salary of the ready-made garment (RMG) workers that stood at 3,000 Takas per month. On November 4, the wage board recommended a 77 per cent rise to 5,300 Takas as minimum wage.
But Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association (BKMEA) representatives walked out of the Wage Board meeting, refusing to accept the amount. They also threatened to shut factories if forced to pay anything over 4,500 Takas.
The garment owners' initially offered a minimum wage of 3,600 Takas, but later they agreed to raise it to 4,250 Takas.
On the other hand, the workers' representatives have been demanding 8,100 Takas as the minimum wage. But they gradually scaled down their demand to 6,000 Takas, then to 5,500 Takas, before finally agreeing to 5,300 Takas.
Demands for the higher wage gained intensity since the collapse of the poorly maintained Rana Plaza factory complex in April when a total of 1,135 people were killed in what was one of world's worst industrial disasters.
"Owners are indifferent to our justified demand. They forced us to take to the street by declining even to pay what the wage board has proposed," a protester said.
