Ashulia (Bangladesh) (AFP) – The mobilization of Bangladeshi textile workers to demand wage increases intensified on Monday in the capital, Dhaka, and its surroundings, where violent incidents with the police multiplied.

First modification: 02/11/2026 - 16:25

This sector is the backbone of the economy of Bangladesh, the world's second largest exporter of garments, employing millions of people and generating the majority of the country's foreign exchange earnings.

Thousands of factories across Bangladesh produce clothing, such as T-shirts, jeans and sweaters, for major retail chains in Europe and the United States.

Since last week, many of its employees have been on strike to demand that their minimum wage be doubled, in a context of high inflation (more than 8% year-on-year in September) and the global energy crisis.

On Sunday, the Government created a committee in charge of renegotiating their salaries but workers consider it insufficient.

On Monday, hundreds of them blocked the highway between Dhaka and Tangail and set fire to several vehicles.

Others demonstrated in the Mirpur district, north of the capital, where the police dispersed them with tear gas, AFP journalists noted.

There were also protests in Narayanganj, home to another industrial zone.

"The police have fired tear gas grenades in our neighborhoods. We live there with our children, but they don't care," Kamona, 24, a worker from the Ashulia district, told AFP.

"The prices of food, gas and electricity have risen. The Government must lower them or, if not, raise our salaries," says Mamun, 28 years old.

The Government has been led by Tarique Rahman's Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) since the legislative elections in February.

At least 57 people have been arrested since the protests began on Saturday, a police spokesman, Kamarum Munira, reported on Monday.

Bangladesh's main textile producers' organization warned that "prolonged unrest could disrupt production, delay exports and call into question Bangladesh's commitments to foreign buyers," according to national news agency BSS.

The average salary of textile workers is around 13,000 taka (94 euros, $105) per month, according to Kalpona Akter, an executive at the Bangladesh Workers Solidarity Center.

© 2026 AFP

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