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Bangladeshi Garment Factories Close After Worker Violence
June 22, 2010

A policeman calls his comrades for help in front of a truck burnt by garment workers in Ashulia on Tuesday. Owners shut all 300 garment factories in an industrial zone near the Bangladesh capital indefinitely as spreading violence by workers asking for higher pay entered a third day, police said. (Reuters Photo/Andrew Biraj) A policeman calls his comrades for help in front of a truck burnt by garment workers in Ashulia on Tuesday. Owners shut all 300 garment factories in an industrial zone near the Bangladesh capital indefinitely as spreading violence by workers asking for higher pay entered a third day, police said. (Reuters Photo/Andrew Biraj)
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About 700 garment factories in Bangladesh were closed on Tuesday after days of violent protests by thousands of workers demanding better wages.

The manufacturers decided late on Monday to close the factories because they had no other way to avoid the anarchy in the major industrial hub outside the capital, Dhaka, according to an official at the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

“We are helpless,” said Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, a vice president of the industry group. “We have decided to keep the factories closed for an indefinite period.”

He said the garment factories had been missing buyers’ deadlines because of the continuous unrest.

Over the past week, thousands of garment workers have taken to the streets and attacked factories in Ashulia, north of the capital.

Hundreds of workers have been injured in clashes with police, who are trying to secure the streets and stop the violence.

The workers are demanding an increase in the minimum wage to 5,000 takas ($73) a month. The current average monthly salary is 2,000 takas.

Fresh violence occurred on Tuesday as workers found the factories closed. They smashed vehicles and set fire to at least five on a major highway, local police chief Sirajul Islam said.

He said at least 30 people were injured after security officials used batons and tear gas to break up the riot.

The country has some 4,000 garment factories that export mainly to the United States and Europe. Garment exports earn the country about $12 billion annually.

The industry employs two million people in Bangladesh and is a mainstay of the impoverished country’s 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. 


Associated Press