OMM Newsroom
A strike by garment workers demanding higher pay has led to the closure of 29 factories in Bangladesh, according to the BBC.
In Gazipur, the country’s second-largest city and a major textile hub, 13 factories were closed overnight on Saturday and another 16 shut on Sunday morning. Police Superintendent Mohammad Amjad Hossain told the BBC that officers moved in after workers walked out.
On Sunday morning, large numbers of workers gathered on the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur and blocked the road. Traffic was halted for about an hour before police intervened to get vehicles moving again.
Workers are seeking a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka (£182). Bangladesh’s current minimum monthly wage is 12,500 taka (£76), which workers say is not enough to meet the cost of living. A “No Work No Pay” provision in labour laws allows factory owners to suspend operations and withhold wages when production is disrupted.
The garment industry employs about four million people and generates nearly $40bn (£30bn) in exports annually, accounting for 10% of Bangladesh’s total GDP. The country produces clothing for major brands including “H&M”, “Primark” and “Zara”. Prolonged unrest could affect international buyers.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) have called for factories to be protected. BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said the groups had questioned the justification for continuing wage board negotiations without assurances that factories would be protected. He also said factories unable to continue production because of the unrest would remain closed indefinitely from the following day under Bangladesh’s labour law.
The government formed a minimum wage board on 1 November to recommend a revised pay structure. The board, chaired by a senior district judge, said at its first meeting that it would finalise its recommendations by the end of November. The revised pay structure is expected to take effect from 1 December.
