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200 000 Bangladesh Workers (Your Outsourced Jobs?) Protest / Riot in Demand for a $100-a-month Minimum Wage – WOULDN’T YOU?
Wednesday, September 25, 2013 1:15
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Thousands of workers in Bangladesh have protested to demand a $100-a-month minimum wage, forcing hundreds of garment factories to shut down for the day.
Workers took to the streets for a third day on Monday, blocking major roads and attacking vehicles in the Gazipur and Savar industrial zones, on the outskirts of the capital, Dhaka.
Abdul Baten, police chief of the Gazipur industrial district, which is home to hundreds of factories, told the AFP news agency that “up to 200,000 workers” had joined the latest demonstrations.
$100 is the minimum we have asked for. A worker needs much more than that to lead a decent life
Shahidul Islam Sabuj, Union Leader
At least 50 people, including some policemen, were injured, witnesses and police said, as police fired tear gas and rubber bullets, and workers responded by throwing broken bricks.
Baten’s deputy Mustafizur Rahman also said about 300 factories, which make clothing for Western retailers such as Walmart, were shut on Monday to contain the violence, as protesting workers attacked plants that stayed open.
The monthly minimum wage in Bangladesh is $38. The government is in talks with unions and factory owners on a new minimum wage.
Bangladesh last increased its minimum garment-worker pay in late 2010 in response to months of street protests, almost doubling the lowest pay. Recently, factory owners offered a 20 percent pay rise which workers refused, calling it “inhuman and humiliating”.
Union leader Shahidul Islam Sabuj threatened to continue the protests, which were also staged on Saturday and Sunday, until wages are increased.
“One hundred dollars is the minimum we have asked for. A worker needs much more than that to lead a decent life,” he told AFP.
Deadly incidents
DEADLY INCIDENTS…
