Dhaka, Nov 2 Garment workers in Bangladesh continued their violent protests on Monday for the second day in a row over their demand for higher pay, prompting authorities to deploy additional paramilitary forces after reports surfaced of vehicle vandalism and major roads being blocked.
Demonstrators clashed with law enforcement personnel in the capital’s Mirpur area, Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj, and set police vans ablaze as police used tear gas, water cannons and batons to disperse them, local media reports said.
The latest wave of protests has forced 670 of around 4,000 registered garment factories to shut in Dhaka, Gazipur and central Mymensingh, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
The workers are demanding that the minimum monthly wage be raised to 30,000 Bangladeshi Taka (around USD 242) from the current 12,500 Taka.
Bangladesh’s garment industry employs more than four million workers and is a major source of export earnings. The country is the world’s second-largest apparel exporter after China, with garment exports worth USD 38.70 billion in the 2025-26 fiscal year, according to the BGMEA.
Bangladeshi garment products are exported to more than 150 countries, with Europe and the United States among the major markets.
The protests continued despite the government’s announcement on Sunday of a wage board, headed by Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman, to review the existing wage structure and recommend a revision.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Monday alleged that some garment factory owners linked to the currently disbanded Awami League party of deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina were also fuelling the unrest.
“Unfortunately, factory owners, who are involved with Awami League politics, too are working to create the unrest. The former lawmakers and junior ministers are also involved,” he told a press conference at his office.
A student-led mass uprising forced former prime minister Hasina to resign and flee the country on August 5, 2024, following which the succeeding government officially banned all political and cyber activities of her party under the Anti-Terrorism Act pending the completion of trials.
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s labour and employment adviser Mahdi Amin, meanwhile, claimed that the government had found evidence of “fugitive evil powers infiltration” into the workers’ movement, in an apparent reference to the Awami League. He said those involved would face legal action.
Exporters have also expressed concern that the ongoing unrest could lead to cancellations of orders from Western buyers.
“The unrest shut down more than 150 factories in Gazipur (alone) on Monday,” the district’s industrial police superintendent Amzad Hossain told reporters, as the area emerged as one of the worst-affected industrial zones.
Gazipur Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Nurul Karim Bhuiyan said 10 platoons of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel had been deployed in the industrial zone to control the situation.
Newspapers, including Prothom Alo, reported that demonstrators blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, which passes through Gazipur’s industrial belt, and set fire to three police vans and several other vehicles.
Protesters carrying iron rods also blocked a major road linking Dhaka with the suburban river port town of Narayanganj, setting vehicle tyres on fire.
The clashes left at least two BGB personnel and several others, including journalists, injured, according to media reports.
On Sunday, protesters torched a police vehicle in the capital, set fire to a police box in Gazipur and blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, prompting authorities to deploy five BGB platoons to assist police in controlling the situation.
Reports described the latest wave of protests as among the most violent in recent months, with demonstrators targeting police property and clashing with law enforcement personnel, including by throwing stones and brickbats.
The clashes on Sunday left at least 50 people, including around 15 police officers, injured, according to newspaper reports. Police used tear gas, water cannons, sound grenades and batons to disperse demonstrators at several locations.
The escalating unrest prompted Prime Minister Tarique Rahman to call an emergency meeting with the home minister, labour minister and other senior ministers on Sunday evening to discuss the situation.
Earlier on Sunday, Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury announced the formation of the wage board and urged workers to return to their jobs.
“We hope the board will convene at the earliest and carry this forward to a stage,” he said.
A government statement said the board includes representatives of workers and factory owners, along with independent experts.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, arrested at least 14 factory workers and leaders and activists of the disbanded Awami League over alleged involvement in sabotage and vandalism in the past two days.
The arrests were made in connection with acts of sabotage allegedly carried out “under the guise of the ongoing movement demanding a salary hike for garment workers”, according to police.
(PTI News)
