Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers demanding higher salaries were met with rubber bullets and tear gas during a recent protest ooutside Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh.

Garment workers are currently paid a minimum of just $24 a month following a 2006 agreement among manufacturers, unions and the government, but business is booming piling increasing amounts to work onto employees.

They are calling for the minumum wage to be increased to $70, but manufacturers say their profits are being squeezed as shoppers seek a bargain amid the global economic downturn.

Al Jazeera's Nicolas Haque reports.