2023-11-03 14:46:55
The mass protests by textile industry workers in Bangladesh are affecting the production of many major brands. There are production losses in many factories “that produce clothing for almost all major Western brands and retailers,” the head of the local textile union, Kalpona Akter, told the AFP news agency on Friday. She named Gap, Walmart, H&M, Zara, Bestseller, Levi’s, Marks and Spencer, Primark and Aldi.
There was initially no confirmation from the companies of production problems in the South Asian country. For their part, factory operators are reluctant to name the affected brands with which they work because they fear losing orders.
At least two people have died and dozens have been injured in the sometimes violent protests for higher wages that have been going on since Monday. Dozens of factories were looted by striking workers, and several hundred others were closed.
On Thursday, the police spoke of more than 300 closed factories in the two suburbs of Gazipur and Ashulia in the capital Dhaka. Union leader Akter spoke of around 600 factories affected.
The protests continued on Friday. Thousands of workers tried to prevent their colleagues from entering the factories of two manufacturers that wanted to resume operations. “The police fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators,” a police representative said, according to AFP. The two manufacturers ultimately sent the 25,000 workers home.
Dhaka and its suburbs are an important center of the textile industry. Many western brands have clothing made there. The wages are very low, the minimum wage in the industry is currently 8,300 taka per month, the equivalent of around 70 euros. The union is demanding almost a three-fold increase to 23,000 taka. The employers’ association offered a 25 percent increase at the weekend.
Bangladesh is one of the largest producers of textiles in the world; there are around 3,500 factories and workshops in the country. Four million people work in the industry. Textiles account for 85 percent of exports worth a total of $55 billion (52 billion euros) annually.
1699023267
#Textile #production #restricted #protests #Bangladesh