Bangladeshi garment workers set factories on fire demanding wage hikes

Bangladeshi garment workers have blocked roads and set factories on fire demanding a minimum monthly wage of 100 dollars.

Abdul Baten, police chief of the Gazipur industrial district near Dhaka, which is home to hundreds of factories, said nearly 200,000 workers had joined the demonstrations, as it entered its third day.

According to the Courier Mail, his deputy Mustafizur Rahman said about 300 factories, which make clothing for top Western retailers such as Walmart, were shut on Monday.

Manufacturers said protests are worst in the sector since 2010 when months of demonstrations forced the government and factory owners to agree to a minimum monthly wage of 3,000 taka.

Bangladeshi textile workers are among the worst paid in the sector worldwide, and they often work for 80 hours a week in factories, which are vulnerable to fires and other accidents.

Factory owners have rejected the demand, saying they can raise wages by only 20 per cent to 3,600 taka due to gloomy global economic conditions, the report added.