Bangladesh Deploys Paramilitary Forces as Garment Workers Continue Wage Protests

Bangladesh deployed paramilitary forces in industrial areas around Dhaka on Tuesday as garment workers continued protests for a fourth day, demanding a sharp increase in the minimum monthly wage despite government efforts to bring them back to factories.

The unrest has continued following the government’s announcement of a wage board to review pay in the garment sector, which employs more than four million people and accounts for around 80 per cent of the country’s export earnings.

Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka ($245), representing a 140 per cent increase from the current minimum of 12,500 taka. They say rising costs for food, housing, transport and healthcare have severely reduced their purchasing power, with inflation running at around 8 per cent.

The Border Guard Bangladesh paramilitary force said it had deployed personnel in Gazipur and Narayanganj, two major industrial areas surrounding the capital. Drones were also being used to monitor the demonstrations.

Police spokesperson Kamarum Munira said authorities had filed cases against thousands of unidentified protesters over the alleged burning of police vehicles and damage to property. Fifty-eight police officers had been injured since the demonstrations began, she added.

Workers said dozens of protesters had also been hurt. Demonstrators were seen throwing bricks at police, who responded with batons and tear gas to disperse crowds.

“Some factories are closed and workers have taken to the streets,” Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said on Tuesday. He accused unnamed groups of attempting to provoke violence and complicate the situation.

In Gazipur, protesters blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway and set fire to roadside debris before police cleared the road. In Mirpur, in northeastern Dhaka, several hundred workers carrying sticks left factories to join the demonstrations, leading to clashes with security forces.

A garment worker in Gazipur, identified only as Begum, accused law enforcement agencies of using force against unarmed workers. She said demonstrations were unlikely to end unless the wage board announced a salary increase.

She also questioned why the government had not established the board before workers took to the streets, pointing to the rising cost of basic goods.

Industry representatives said workers from at least 670 factories had walked out by Monday. Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest garment exporter after China, supplies major international brands including Levi Strauss, Fruit of the Loom and companies owned by VF Corp.

The government has also linked the unrest to political tensions. Ahmed alleged, without presenting evidence, that supporters of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina were seeking to exploit the protests. Dhaka Metropolitan Police said 33 people linked to Hasina’s banned Awami League had been arrested over the previous 24 hours in connection with the unrest.

Babul Akhter, a workers’ representative on the wage board, urged employees to return to their factories, saying labour leaders would continue pressing for fair wages and could call for further action if necessary.

The protests pose a challenge for Bangladesh’s garment industry, a major source of export revenue and employment, as workers and manufacturers face pressure over wages and operating costs.