Garment workers' protests in Bangladesh turn violent

NEW DELHI: Protests by garment workers in Bangladesh entered their second day on Monday, with demonstrators disrupting traffic and clashing with police at several places in Dhaka. Workers have been protesting since Sunday, demanding higher wages amid shrinking global orders and factory closures.

Hundreds of workers from several garment factories blocked a major intersection in Dhaka on Sunday, prompting a police crackdown. The country's major garment manufacturing centres are concentrated around Dhaka, Ashulia, Gazipur and Tongi.

The minimum monthly wage for garment workers in Bangladesh is currently 12,500 taka, but workers are demanding an increase to 30,000 taka.


Their demand comes after the Bangladesh government announced a new pay scale for government employees, roughly doubling their salaries and benefits. Workers are now seeking a similar increase in their wages, according to Dhaka-based sources.

The BNP government has formed a wage board to determine revised pay scales for garment workers. However, protests have continued, potentially emerging as a major challenge for the Tarique Rahman government, which is already facing growing anti-incumbency amid a slowdown in the domestic economy.

The textile industry is Bangladesh's biggest revenue earner but has yet to recover fully from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Export orders have dwindled, adding to pressure on manufacturers.

The garment industry accounts for more than 80% of Bangladesh's total export earnings, valued at $38.7 billion to $48.6 billion annually, and contributes roughly 10% to the country's GDP. It directly employs about 4 million workers, predominantly women.

Meanwhile, reports have emerged of an alliance between Jamaat-e-Islami and Rohingya armed groups along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, potentially posing a major security challenge for India's northeastern states.

In 2025, Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami proposed the creation of an independent Rohingya-majority state or safe zone in Myanmar's Rakhine state during meetings with Chinese Communist Party officials. The proposal aimed to address the protracted status and safety of the refugee population.