Dhaka: At least 1,500 workers have been sacked from Bangladeshi garment factories after protests forced a weeklong shutdown at dozens of sites supplying top European and American brands, the Guardian reported Tuesday.
Tens of thousands of workers walked out of factories this month in the manufacturing hub of Ashulia, which make clothes for top Western brands such as Gap, Zara, and H&M, prompting concerns over supply during the Christmas season.
The protests were sparked by the sacking of 121 workers, but soon evolved into a demand for the trebling of workers’ pay from the current monthly minimum of 5,300 takas (£54).
More than 50 factories were closed last week to try to contain the protests, which escalated after police fired rubber bullets that injured 10 demonstrators, according to labor leader Taslima Akhter.
Police have branded the protests illegal and said they had arrested 30 workers including seven union leaders, as well as a television reporter covering the unrest. On Tuesday, they said factory owners had sacked around 1,500 employees and resumed operations.
“All the factories have resumed their operations. Some 90% of the workers have joined work,” said Nur Nabi, assistant superintendent of police.
“Around 1,500 workers have been sacked [by the owners]. The owners have filed five cases against the unruly workers,” he told AFP.
Many of the sacked workers discovered their fate only after arriving at work to see a list of those affected posted on factory gates.
The monthly minimum wage for Bangladeshi textile workers was raised in 2013 after the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory complex which killed 1,134 people. It triggered massive protests and international scrutiny of the industry.
Nevertheless, it remains one of the lowest wages in the world, less than one-fifth of what some campaigners estimate to be the country’s living wage.
The Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation said the number of sacked workers was far higher, about 3,500, with dozens more labor organizers forced into hiding.
The Ashulia police chief said only those involved in violent protests had been arrested.
“When a worker is suspended or sacked by a factory owner, they don’t easily get a job again,” Akhter said. “The owners make a list of those workers and distribute their names and photos close to the particular factory. They never get jobs again in that area.”
She said the 5,300 taka workers were paid each month was supposed to cover healthcare, transport, rent, and food. But the wage had not increased since 2013 and was “not enough to survive on.”
“If workers need to rent a room, they have to pay between 2,500 and 4,500 takas,” she said. “And the price of daily products is very high. If they want to go to a good doctor, they also have to pay more.”
On Friday, Nazmul Huda, a TV journalist covering the demonstrations was also arrested for allegedly “spread[ing] false and provocative news,” Indian media reported.
Garment manufacturing makes up 80% of Bangladesh’s exports, and a prolonged interruption would have a major impact on the economy.
The Rana Plaza tragedy triggered international outrage, forcing the US and European clothing brands to improve deplorable safety conditions at their supplier factories.
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