DHAKA: Garment workers’ protests demanding higher wages entered their third day on Monday, shutting hundreds of factories in and around the capital and drawing a security response that included water cannon and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) deployments.
Workers are demanding that the monthly minimum wage be raised from Tk 12,500 to Tk 30,000, citing inflation and rising costs of food, rent, transport and medical care. At least 529 factories in Mirpur, Savar-Ashulia, Gazipur and Mymensingh declared holidays during the unrest, according to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
Clashes were reported at several locations. Security forces used water cannon to disperse protesters in Dhaka on Sunday. Workers were also accused of hurling bricks at eight factories and setting a covered van on fire in Narsingdi’s Narsinghpur area. BGB personnel were deployed after workers again blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, and several factory owners suspended operations, fearing attacks.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed alleged after meeting BGMEA and BKMEA leaders that factory owners linked to the former Awami League government, along with some former lawmakers and ministers, were instigating the unrest. He also accused some owners of deliberately shutting their factories to aggravate the situation and said some labour leaders were involved. He said genuine workers and their organisations were not behind the violence, that several suspects had been detained, and that those exploiting the protests would face stern legal action. He also said the agitation was being incited from across the border. These allegations have not been independently verified.
The government, led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, has formed a minimum wage board to determine revised pay. It was constituted on Sunday and could hold its first meeting on Monday, the minister said. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has reportedly instructed officials to protect workers’ interests and consider their living standards when setting the new wage structure.
The unrest comes at a sensitive time for the country’s ready-made garment industry, which earned $38.48 billion in exports in 2024 and employs more than four million people. Bangladesh is the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China.