Follow-up: Bangladesh Garment Protests Enter Fourth Day; at Least 670 Factories Shut, 58 Police Injured
DHAKA, Bangladesh — Protests by Bangladesh's garment workers demanding a higher minimum monthly wage entered a fourth day on Tuesday, despite the government's announcement on Sunday of a wage board to review pay. Workers are demanding the minimum monthly wage be raised from the current 12,500 taka (about $102) to 30,000 taka (about $245), more than double; the current rate was set in a December 2023 increase, and workers say rising food, housing, transport and medical costs have sharply eroded purchasing power.
The shutdown keeps growing. Industry representatives said 529 factories had shut earlier, affecting nearly 990,000 workers; by Monday, workers from at least 670 factories had walked out. Protests are concentrated in Dhaka and surrounding industrial areas — Mirpur, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj: workers in Gazipur blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway and set fire to roadside debris and vehicles, while workers in Mirpur clashed with police, who used tear gas, water cannons and sound grenades to disperse crowds.
Police spokesperson Kamarum Munira said 58 officers have been injured since the protests began. Dhaka Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday that 33 people linked to the now-banned Awami League had been arrested over the past 24 hours over alleged involvement in the unrest; that link is the police's account. The paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh has deployed forces in Gazipur and Narayanganj and is using drones to monitor the unrest. The six-member wage board announced on Sunday by Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury will review the wage structure and recommend a revision; its formation does not mean the government has agreed to raise wages to 30,000 taka. The garment industry employs about 4 million people and generates more than 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings.
Source: AFP
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 2026年11月2日，孟加拉国劳工与就业部长阿里富尔·哈克·乔杜里等官员就成衣业动荡与劳工领袖会商。/ Bangladeshi officials, including Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, meet labour leaders over garment sector unrest on November 2, 2026. 摄影：Press Information Department，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons
- 2026-11-01Bangladesh Sets Up Wage Board as Garment Protests Shut 529 Factories, Idling Nearly 990,000 Workers
- 2026-11-02Follow-Up: Bangladesh Garment Factories Reopen on November 2: Workers Demand 30,000 Taka Monthly Wage, Manufacturers Warn of 'No Work, No Pay' If Stoppages Resume
- 2026-11-03Follow-up: Bangladesh Garment Protests Enter Fourth Day; at Least 670 Factories Shut, 58 Police InjuredThis story
