Labour unrest in Bangladesh’s garment sector has entered its fourth day as police fired tear gas and sound grenades to disperse protesters in the capital Dhaka and adjoining industrial districts.
Factory workers began the protests on Saturday to demand a hike in the monthly minimum entry-level wage to 30,000 Bangladeshi taka ($A315) from the existing 12,500 taka, which was fixed in 2023.
In response to the workers’ demands, the government on Sunday formed a panel to revise the minimum wage in the garment sector.
On Tuesday, police said they arrested four people in Dhaka’s Mirpur neighbourhood where demonstrators clashed with police for nearly an hour.
Witnesses said several hundred workers from garment factories walked out onto the streets after their morning shift began.
They gathered on a main road, halting traffic during rush hour.
They chanted slogans in support of their demands.
Police in riot gear chased them.
At one stage, the workers started pelting brick chips, with police responding with tear gas and sound grenades, forcing the workers to retreat from the main road and nearby alleys.
Police officer Touhidul Arif said the situation normalised after the troublemakers were driven away from the main road.
Outside Dhaka, protesters in the Ashulia and Gazipur industrial districts blocked parts of the Dhaka-Tangail highway, halting traffic movement on the major highway that connects the capital with the northern parts of the country.
Police fired more than 25 sound grenades to disperse the protesters, who set fire to tyres and rubbish to block the highway, officer Belayet Hossain said.
“We have brought the protests somewhat under control,” he said, adding that the blockade brought traffic to a halt on both sides of the highway for several hours.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) said the unrest forced owners to suspend operations at more than 300 factories, affecting nearly 700,000 workers.
The factories are located in the cities of Dhaka, Gazipur and Mymensingh.
Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed on Tuesday alleged that certain quarters with ulterior political motives were inciting the violence that had disrupted factory production.
“Such activities will be handled with an iron hand,” he told reporters at his office in Dhaka, hoping that the operations at the suspended factories would resume soon.
Bangladesh, the second-largest apparel manufacturer after China, annually earns about $US39 billion ($A56 billion) from garment exports, mostly destined for European and US markets.
The sector employs more than 4 million workers, mostly women, across 4000 factories.
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