Thousands of garment factory workers took to the streets of Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka, and the industrial district of Gazipur, on Tuesday 31 October to demand better wages.
Workers get paid 8,300 takas, or $75, as monthly minimum wage and they often need to work overtime to make ends meet, labour unions and workers say.
Protests erupted over the weekend after the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) offered to increase the monthly minimum wage by 25 per cent to reach $90, instead of the $208 demanded by the workers.
Gazipur district, which houses thousands of factories, saw thousands of people on the streets, with some throwing stones at shops.
In Dhaka’s Mirpur area, hundreds of protesters chanted demanding better wages.