Violence continues over pay hikes in B’desh

Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on Monday in the third day of clashes with thousands of garment workers demanding better minimum wages amid escalating tension over the country’s main export business.

Police said the violence mainly took place in the Gazipur and Savar Industrial zones, just outside the capital of Dhaka. 

Hundreds of factories that produce clothing for many big global brands, including Wal-Mart and H&M, are located in those two areas. Witnesses said the workers also poured into the streets at two major intersections in Dhaka, disrupting traffic.

Scores were injured in the violence as the workers threw stones at police, who retaliated with rubber bullets and tear gas, according to local police chief in Gazipur, Abdul Baten. More than 100 factories were closed for the day, he said.

The Bengali-language Prothom Alo daily reported that the angry workers attacked a makeshift camp of security officials and looted eight rifles in Gazipur. They later burned four rifles and dumped the rest in a sewage drain, it said.

About 50 people were injured Sunday in similar street violence.

The workers are demanding that their minimum monthly wage be raised to 8,114 takas (around $100) from the current 3,000 takas ($38). Factory owners are unwilling to increase the monthly wage beyond 3,600 takas ($45), saying it would inflate their production costs.