670 Garment Factories Shut in Bangladesh as 1.68 Million Workers Stay Away
Hundreds of garment factories in Bangladesh stayed closed on Monday as workers demanding higher pay stopped work or took to the roads, according to figures from the garment manufacturers’ association, BGMEA.
The BGMEA said 670 of the 2,134 factories in five main industrial zones were shut, while 1,464 kept running. About 1.68 million workers did not report for duty. In Gazipur and Mymensingh, 382 of 836 factories closed and 883,472 workers were absent. In Savar, Ashulia and Jirani, 223 of 441 factories were closed, with 743,650 workers away. In Dhaka’s Mirpur, 65 of 320 factories shut and 53,450 workers stayed home. Factories in Narayanganj and Chattogram were not affected.
Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000, against the current Tk 12,500. They also want dismissed workers reinstated and an end to the blacklisting of those who joined the protests. The government has formed a six-member wage board to review the pay structure, but protests have continued in several zones.
On Sunday, protesters and police clashed in several areas. Police fired tear gas and sound grenades, and border guards were deployed in Savar and Gazipur. Authorities declared leave at 529 garment factories across the country that day because of security risks. Police said 49 people were detained in Mirpur and Gazipur in connection with violence and alleged sabotage.
Sarakhon estimated that one day of lost output could be worth up to about Tk 550 crore, based on average daily export earnings. It stressed this is a rough figure rather than a final loss, since some production can be made up later, while delayed shipments or cancelled orders could push the real damage higher. Garments bring in more than 80 percent of Bangladesh’s export earnings and employ about four million people. The months from October to February are a key period for winning buyers’ orders for the next season, so a prolonged stoppage at the garment factories could be costly.
Originally reported by Sarakhon.