Thaindian News

Dhaka, June 29 (IANS) Agitating workers Monday set fire to a garment factory located on the outskirts of the capital, where violence over the past two days has left two workers dead and 200 injured.
Police fired rubber bullets to break up the demonstrators who took to the streets in Ashulia for the third day in succession.

Locals said the demonstrators set fire to a garment factory belonging to Hanim Group at Narsinghpur in Savar, Star Online reported.

Readymade garment and knitwear are Bangladesh’s highest foreign exchange earners. But these industries are plagued with low wages and poor working conditions, leading to frequent breaks in industrial peace.

Delay in wages and festival-time bonus and accidents have led to agitations and destruction of life and property.

The garment workers also staged demonstrations at Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) to protest the deaths of their colleagues.

About 200 garment workers put up barricades on Ashulia-Abdullahpur road since Monday morning. Workers of different garments gathered at different points of the road and blocked 15 km area halting the vehicular movement.

Police shot over 200 rounds of rubber bullets and teargas shells and baton charged to break up Sunday’s protest over the fellow worker’s death the previous day.

The angry workers attacked at least 15 factories and damaged over 50 vehicles. They barricaded the Dhaka-Tangail highway for over four hours, causing huge traffic gridlock on either side, United News of Bangladesh (UNB) reported.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Abdus Salam Murshedy has expressed deep concern over the last two days’ violence.

“I request the workers and their leaders to understand that the present global situation doesn’t bode well for our export sector.”