Bangladesh Clothing Workers Strike Escalation

Bangladesh clothing factory workers strike intensified.

At least 15 thousand textile workers set up roadblocks on the streets of the capital Dhaka, blocking the main crossroads in the city, throwing stones at the police and smashing police cars.

In order to disperse the demonstrators, Bangladesh police used bamboo sticks, tear gas bombs and high pressure water guns, resulting in fierce clashes between the two sides.

Eventually several factories were forced to close.

It is reported that the average wage of the workers in the textile industry is at least 1660 Taka (about 24 US dollars) per month.

They asked to raise their wages to 5000 Tucca ($73) per month, while employers said they would be willing to give 3000 Taka cards at most.

"We work for them."

A strikers shouted, "they are making money in business, but they do not give us money."

Despite negotiations between employers and employees, strike leaders said they did not receive any response to their pay request.

Bangladesh has recently had a series of violent demonstrations caused by low wages.

There are more than 4500 garment factories in Bangladesh. These garment factory workers make garments for some famous Western brands, such as H&M.

Nearly 40% of the country's industrial workforce is clothing workers.

Clothing manufacturing is one of Bangladesh's main source of economy.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce, 80% of the country's $15 billion 560 million export revenue last year came from the garment industry.

Retailers such as French Carrefour and Levi "s" have written to Bangladesh prime minister in January this year, demanding a full wage increase for workers.

The letter says that the current wage level "below the poverty line" is also the cause of "workers' dissatisfaction."