DHAKA: Bangladesh’s prime minister urged garment workers yesterday to end deadly protests over a new minimum wage as police launched a crackdown against union leaders leading the campaign.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina called on workers to return to their factories, where they stitch clothes for Western retailers such as Walmart and H&M, branding the protests over the new $68 minimum monthly wage unjustified.
“I would like to tell the apparel sector workers to go to work,” Hasina said in comments aired by local television channels.
She warned that workers would be “the worst-losers” if factories continued to stay closed as a result of the protests and Western retailers diverted orders to other countries as a result.
Police have arrested five leaders over their roles in the street protests in key industrial districts outside the capital which started last week and have seen clashes with police that have left two people dead.
“They were (all) arrested on Tuesday for inciting violence,” Mostafizur Rahman, deputy police chief of Gazipur district said.
The protests have forced the closure of some of the country’s biggest garment plants, crippling the sector, a mainstay of the nation’s economy.
Tens of thousands of workers have taken to the streets in Gazipur and neighbouring industrial hubs of Ashulia and Savar, over the wage fixed by the government which they say is still too low. While pro-government unions and the manufacturers have accepted the new figure, left-leaning groups are demanding a $100 wage, saying that amount is the minimum needed to maintain a decent life.
Protests against poor pay and conditions have gathered momentum since the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex in April on the outskirts of Dhaka that killed 1,135 people.
Two workers were shot dead by police on Monday and hundreds have been injured in the violence that began after the government announced the 76 percent hike earlier this month. One of the leaders arrested on Tuesday, Mohammad Kafiluddin, heads a union based in Gazipur, while three are members of a union affiliated with the Communist Party, including its district head, Ziaul Kabir Khokan, union officials said. Details of the fifth leader are unknown. AFP
