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Gallery|Business and Economy

Bangladesh police clash with protesting garment workers

Protests rejecting a government-offered pay rise force the closure of at least 100 factories outside Dhaka.

Garment workers clash with police personnel during a rally in Gazipur on November 9, 2023.
The workers are seeking a wage rise to 23,000 taka ($207) and unions representing them have rejected the panel's increase as 'farcical'. [Munir uz Zaman/AFP]
Published On 10 Nov 202310 Nov 2023
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Up to 25,000 garment workers clashed with police in Bangladesh on Thursday, officials said, as protests rejecting a government-offered pay rise forced the closure of at least 100 factories outside Dhaka.

A government-appointed panel raised wages on Tuesday by 56.25 percent for the South Asian nation’s four million garment factory workers, who are seeking a near-tripling of their monthly wage.

Bangladesh’s 3,500 garment factories account for about 85 percent of its $55bn in annual exports, supplying many of the world’s top brands including Levi’s, Zara and H&M.

But conditions are dire for many of the workers, the vast majority of whom are women whose monthly pay starts at 8,300 taka ($75).

Police said violence broke out in the industrial towns of Gazipur and Ashulia on the outskirts of Dhaka after more than 10,000 workers staged protests in factories and along highways to reject the panel’s offer.

“There were 10,000 [protesting] workers at several spots. They threw bricks and stones at our officers and factories, which were open,” Mahmud Naser, Ashulia’s deputy industrial police chief, said.

“One of our officers was injured. We fired rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the workers,” Naser said, adding that more than 100 factories were shut down in Ashulia and surrounding areas.

Thousands of workers also clashed with the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and police at Konabari and Naujore in Gazipur, with police using batons and tear gas to drive them into alleys.

“About 15,000 workers blocked the road at Konabari, and vandalised vehicles and other properties. We had to disperse them to maintain law and order,” Gazipur municipality administrator Sayed Murad Ali said.

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At least two injured workers were taken to hospital, police said.

Garment workers gather along a road during a protest in Gazipur on November 9, 2023, after the Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers.
Police say at least three workers have been killed since the wage protests broke out in key industrial towns last week, including a 23-year-old woman shot dead on Wednesday. [AFP]
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Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) personnel detain a garment worker (C) protesting in Gazipur on November 9, 2023, after the Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers.
Unions say the panel's wage increase fails to match soaring prices of food, house rents and schooling and healthcare costs. They have also accused the government and police of arresting and intimidating organisers. [Munir uz Zaman/AFP]
Garment workers carry a fellow worker (C) injured during a clash with police personnel in Gazipur.
'Police arrested Mohammad Jewel Miya, one of the organisers of our unions. A grassroots leader ... was also arrested,' Rashedul Alam Raju, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Independent Garment Workers Federation (BIGWUF), said. [Munir uz Zaman/AFP]
Garment workers clash with police personnel during a rally in Gazipur on November 9, 2023.
Another union leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least six union leaders had been arrested and unions were being threatened by police to call off the protests and accept the wage offer. [Munir uz Zaman/AFP]
Bangladeshi garment workers clash with security officials in Gazipur city, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Police said about 600 factories that make clothing for many big Western brands were shuttered last week and scores were ransacked as the worst wage protest in 10 years hit key industrial areas and a suburb of the capital. [Monirul Alam/EPA-EFE]
Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) members detain a garment worker during clashes in Gazipur city, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh.
The United States has condemned violence against protesting Bangladeshi garment workers and 'the criminalisation of legitimate worker and trade union activities'. [Monirul Alam/EPA-EFE]
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Bangladeshi garment workers vandalize buses during a protest demanding an increase in their wages at Mirpur in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
In a statement, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller urged the panel 'to revisit the minimum wage decision to ensure that it addresses the growing economic pressures faced by workers and their families'. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo]
Bangladeshi garment factory workers demanding better wages block traffic at Dhaka-Mirpur area in Bangladesh.
The Netherlands-based Clean Clothes Campaign, a textile workers' rights group, has also dismissed the new pay level as a 'poverty wage'. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo]
Bangladeshi garment factory workers demanding better wages block traffic and clash with police at Dhaka-Mirpur area in Bangladesh.
The minimum wage is fixed by a state-appointed board that includes representatives from the manufacturers, unions and wage experts. [Mahmud Hossain Opu/AP Photo]
Activists of different garment workers' unions take part in a protest in front of the Minimum Wage Board office demanding rising ahead of a new minimum wage announcement in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
There was no comment from top brands who source tens of billions of dollars worth of clothing from Bangladesh and for whom South Asian factories are a vital part of their supply chains. [Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via Getty Images]
Activists of different garment workers' unions take part in a protest in front of the Minimum Wage Board office demanding rising ahead of a new minimum wage announcement in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
But last month brands including Gap, Levi Strauss, Lululemon and Patagonia wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina calling for a 'successful conclusion' to wage negotiations. [Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via Getty Images]


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