Police Clash With Workers as 679 Bangladesh Factories Shut

Bangladesh’s garment workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka, up from 12,500 taka, as clashes with police forced 679 factories to halt production. The workers’ demand lands in an industry that employs about four million people and supplies more than 80% of the country’s export earnings. Production briefly resumed on Nov. 2 after a widespread shutdown the previous day, then stopped again as unrest spread.

“Bangladesh has among the lowest garment wages in the world,” said Babul Akhter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation and a workers’ representative on the wage board. “If factory owners cannot pay workers properly, they should negotiate better prices with international buyers. They cannot build a business on the backs of underpaid workers.”

The cost of keeping production moving

Workers blocked roads, vandalised factories and clashed with police across major manufacturing districts. In Dhaka, police said they used tear gas to disperse workers trying to block roads after protesters threw bricks and stones at officers. Unrest was also reported in Ashulia and Gazipur, manufacturing hubs on the outskirts of the capital.

Police and industry officials said protesters set fire to a police vehicle and vandalised factories. Around 20 to 25 factories were vandalised, according to Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association. Khan also said the office of a leather goods factory was attacked.

The wage dispute has gained momentum amid persistent inflation and rising living costs. The government formed a six-member wage board on Nov. 1 to review workers’ demands. Workers continued to press for higher wages and resolution of employment grievances after protests and factory closures on Nov. 1.

The arithmetic of the industry is stark: the ready-made garment sector employs about four million workers, accounts for roughly 10% of economic output and makes Bangladesh the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China. The shutdown also raised concerns about shipment delays and buyer confidence during a critical period for spring and summer export orders. Major buyers include H&M, Zara, Walmart and Primark.

Owners warn workers could lose pay

Factory owners said the industry faces higher costs, energy-market uncertainty linked to conflict in the Middle East and slowing demand in key export markets. Khan warned that repeated shutdowns could bring a direct penalty for workers. “If this continues and factories are repeatedly forced to shut, we will have no option but to invoke the ‘no work, no pay’ provision,” he said.

The threat puts the consequences of interrupted production on workers, even as their demand concerns the wages paid for that production. The owners’ association has raised costs and export-market pressures; workers’ representatives have pointed to low wages and the prices international buyers pay.

A wage board, and warnings from the state

Home Affairs Minister Salahuddin Ahmed warned: “Those acting against workers’ interests under the guise of labour protests and attempting to destabilise the country will be dealt with firmly.” The government’s wage board is reviewing the demands, while police have used tear gas in Dhaka and workers and police have clashed across manufacturing districts.

Selim Raihan, an economics professor at the University of Dhaka, said workers’ demands were understandable given high inflation and warned that further unrest was possible. He said a substantial wage rise could increase production costs, squeeze profit margins and weaken Bangladesh’s price competitiveness. Raihan called for “a phased wage adjustment, improved productivity and fairer pricing from international buyers” to balance workers’ welfare with industrial sustainability. The board’s review continues against the backdrop of closed factories, workers’ demands and owners’ warnings about lost pay.