2023-10-31 10:15:30
Bangladesh
New clashes between police and striking textile workers
Tens of thousands of workers in Bangladesh’s textile industry, which supplies brands like Adidas, H&M and Gap, are demanding pay rises.
PublishedOctober 31, 2023, 11:15
The protest turned violent on Monday with the walkout of tens of thousands of workers in Gazipur where a six-story factory was set on fire, leading to the death of a worker.
New clashes broke out on Tuesday in Bangladesh between the police and thousands of employees demanding wage increases in the textile industry which supplies major Western brands, the day following demonstrations that left at least two dead. “Workers have taken to the streets because their salaries can no longer cover rising food costs,” said Al Kamran, a senior union official in the textile sector in Ashulia (center).
Police say tens of thousands of workers at dozens of factories have launched wildcat strikes in Ashulia and Gazipur, the country’s main industrial city. “Some 15,000 workers took part in demonstrations for an increase in wages at different locations in Ashulia,” said Mahmud Naser, deputy police chief of the city’s industrial zone. A figure disputed by union leader Al Kamran according to which some 50,000 workers stopped work in the Ashulia area alone.
According to the police official, demonstrators on Tuesday set tires on fire, vandalized factories by breaking windows and blocked a major highway linking the industrial zone to the capital Dhaka, prompting the police to use “tear gas and shooting rubber bullets. No injuries were reported, he said.
Several factories vandalized, according to police
According to police, thousands of workers also abandoned their jobs and vandalized several factories in Mouchak and Bhograr More in Gazipur, where there are more than a thousand factories that produce clothing for brands such as Adidas, H&M and Gap. Bangladesh is one of the world’s largest clothing exporters, with the industry accounting for 85% of the South Asian country’s $55 billion in annual exports.
According to the unions, salary and working conditions are disastrous for a large part of the four million workers in the sector. Soaring food prices are one of the main reasons for this movement, with some basic food items seeing their prices double compared to last year.
“Today, a kilo of potatoes sells for 70 takas (56 cents) and a kilo of onions is worth 130 takas,” compared to 30 and 50 to 60 takas respectively last year, Al Kamran said. “Rents have also increased. The only thing that hasn’t increased is the salary,” he added.
Less than 70 francs per month
Major brands including Adidas, Hugo Boss, Levi Strauss and Puma wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina earlier this month, recommending “that the Bangladesh government adopt a mechanism for annual review of the minimum wage to monitor changes in macroeconomic factors.
According to Taslima Akter, president of the Garment Sramik Samhati union, the current remuneration is “lower than what a worker received in 2017”, once inflation and currency depreciation are taken into account. Today, the minimum monthly salary of workers does not exceed 8,300 takas (67 francs).
Unions say workers’ anger exploded when the powerful manufacturers’ association proposed a 25% increase, ignoring their demand for a minimum monthly wage of 23,000 takas (182 francs), almost three times more.
(AFP)Show comments
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