Bangladesh garment workers who make clothes for The Gap, Walmart, H&M, Zara clash with police as factories reopen
- Clashes broke out in an industrial area west of the capital Dhaka, after around 10,000 workers attempted to prevent their colleagues from returning to work
- Workers say an increase in living costs has left them struggling to provide for their families and they are demanding a near-tripling of wages
Striking Bangladesh garment workers clashed with police on Saturday near the capital as factories reopened in defiance of a protest campaign demanding a near-tripling of wages.
Bangladesh’s 3,500 garment factories account for around 85 per cent of the South Asian country’s US$55 billion annual exports, supplying many of the world’s top names in fashion including Levi’s, Zara and H&M.
But conditions are dire for many of the sector’s four million workers, the vast majority of whom are women whose monthly wages start at 8,300 taka (US$75).
Police said some 600 businesses closed over the week had reopened in areas worst-hit by the strike, which saw some factories ransacked and set alight.
But clashes broke out in the industrial town of Ashulia, west of the capital Dhaka, after around 10,000 workers attempted to prevent their colleagues from returning to their shifts.
