Bangladesh: RMG workers’ unrest continues

Apparel, Footwear, Fashion

Bangladesh: RMG workers’ unrest continues

20 hurt as workers block highways, vandalise 10 factories, 25 vehicles; most RMG units in Gazipur halt production

The unrest in Bangladesh’s apparel sector that stemmed three days ago from the workers’ demand for fixing minimum monthly salary at Tk 8,000 continues. The unrest erupted in different parts of Dhaka, Gazipur and Savar. At least 20 people including six police personnel were injured as the aggrieved workers engaged in sporadic clashes with law enforcers in Tejgaon area of Dhaka and in Savar, on the outskirts of the capital.

Almost all the readymade garment factories in Gazipur suspended production at the units. The road communications on Dhaka-Mymensingh and Dhaka-Aricha highways also remain suspended since this morning as the apparel workers put barricades at different points in Tongi upazila in Gazipur and in Savar. They also damaged at least 25 vehicles on the highways.

The marauding workers vandalised at least five RMG units on Dhaka-Tangail highway at Konabari in Gazipur and several in Savar. This is the largest protest, as 50,000 garment industry workers have joined hands to demand an increase of more than 1.5 times in the minimum wage.

"Our backs are against the wall, so we don't have any alternative unless we raise our voice strongly," Nazma Akter, president of the United Garments Workers' Federation, which groups 52 garment worker's groups, told the peaceful protest. "We will not hesitate to do anything to realize our demand."

Bangladesh's US$ 20-billion garment export industry employs roughly 4 million workers who earn about 3,000 taka (US$ 38) a month, or half of what Cambodian factory workers now earn. They want a raise to 8,000 taka (US$ 103) per month. "We are not the object of mercy, the economy moves with our toil," Akter added.

Although the factory owners earlier agreed to a raise of just 20 percent, the workers refused this, calling it "inhuman and humiliating".
The government is in talks with labor groups and factory owners on a new minimum wage. Bangladesh last hiked its minimum garment-worker pay in late 2010, almost doubling the lowest pay. This time, wages are unlikely to go much higher as factory owners, who oppose the raise, say they cannot afford higher salaries as Western retailers are used to buying cheap clothing.