Tens of thousands of Bangladeshi workers riot

Around 700 clothing factories in Bangladesh were closed today following violent protests by tens of thousands of workers demanding better wages.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said they decided to shut because they had no other way to avoid the anarchy in the major industrial hub outside the capital, Dhaka.

Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, a vice president of the industry group, said: “We are helpless.”

He said the factories were missing buyers’ deadlines because of the continuous unrest.

However, the closures sparked more violence today when workers smashed vehicles and set fire to at least five on a major road.

Around 30 people were injured after security officials used batons and tear gas to break up the demonstration.

Over the last few days, thousands of workers took to the streets and attacked many factories in Ashulia. Hundreds have been injured in clashes with police, who are trying to remove them from streets and stop the violence.

The workers are demanding that the minimum wage rise to 5,000 takas (€58.60) a month. The current average monthly salary is 2,000 takas (€23.44) – that makes them the world’s most poorly paid garment workers, according to the International Trade Union Confederation, a Vienna-based workers’ rights group.

Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the exporters association, said that the group was meeting with government ministers to end the violence.

Labour Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said that the government would not tolerate the unrest and was working to end it.

Bangladesh has 4,000 clothing factories that export mainly to the United States and Europe.

The industry employs two million people in Bangladesh and is a mainstay of the its economy.

It has been hit hard by the global recession, however, and manufacturers say they are being squeezed by a slump in demand and higher production costs due to an energy crisis and poor infrastructure.