Bangladesh garment sector hit by wage unrest; Govt sets up review board

Garment workers in Bangladesh on Sunday (Nov 1) staged violent protests in the capital Dhaka and its outskirts over their longstanding demand for higher pay, prompting the government to announce the formation of a wage board, officials and media reports said. Slogan-chanting protestors torched a police vehicle in the capital, set on fire a police box in Gazipur, where they also blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway, demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 Bangladeshi Taka (approx INR 23,000), police and witnesses said. In multiple spots, protestors pelted stones and brickbats, prompting law enforcers to respond with tear gas, water cannons, and sound grenades alongside batons.