Ashuliya (Bangladesh) (AFP) - Thousands of striking workers in the Bangladeshi garment sector clashed with the police on Monday, demanding a minimum monthly wage more than double their current salaries, while the protests expanded to include several industrial areas.

Published on: 02/11/2026 - 15:01

This South Asian country, with a population of 170 million people, is the second largest clothing exporter in the world after China, and produces clothing for a number of major international brands.

Hundreds of workers in Ghazipur, north of the capital, Dhaka, closed the highway between Dhaka and Tangail and vandalized several vehicles. Large groups also demonstrated in the Mirpur neighborhood, where police dispersed the protesters with tear gas, according to what AFP reporters monitored.

Angry workers set fire to a police vehicle in Ghazipur.

Striking workers also held protests on Monday afternoon in Narayanganj, where another major industrial area is located.

Police spokesman Kamarom Munera announced that at least 57 people had been arrested since the outbreak of protests on Saturday.

The protests continued despite the government's announcement on Sunday that it would form a wages body to review minimum wages in the vital garment sector, which employs millions of people and provides most of Bangladesh's export revenues.

However, labor leaders confirm that the workers’ demands go beyond merely forming the body, pointing to inflation and high household expenses.

The protesters are demanding a monthly wage of 30,000 taka ($241), more than double their current salaries.

The workers currently receive about 13,000 taka per month, according to Kalpona, more than the Bangladesh Center for Solidarity with Workers.

On Monday, police fired stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowds in Ashulia, a suburb of Dhaka that is home to some of the country's largest factories.

"With an iron fist"

“The prices of food, cooking gas and electricity bills have risen,” said Mamum, a 28-year-old factory worker. “The government must either reduce the prices of basic goods or raise our wages.”

“We are the ones running the economy,” said Charmaine, 24, who works on one of the machines. “They should listen to us.”

Interior Minister Salah al-Din Ahmed warned that the government was taking firm measures to stop the protests.

“Anyone who engages in illegal activities and conspiracies under the guise of labor movements will be faced with an iron hand,” he said after meeting with representatives of the sector on Monday.

But Ahmed Kan also announced that Prime Minister Tariq Rahman had directed officials, following an emergency government meeting late Sunday, to “guarantee workers’ rights and improve their living standards.”

He added that Rahman asked them to ensure that production and exports continue "without hindrance."

Bangladesh manufactures clothing for companies ranging from Fruit of the Loom to Levi Strauss to VF Corp, whose brands include Vans, Timberland and The North Face.

The most prominent clothing and knitwear manufacturers' associations warned that "continued unrest could disrupt production, delay export shipments and affect Bangladesh's obligations to international buyers," according to what the official BSS news agency reported on Monday.

Kamrul Hassan, Secretary General of the Ekota Garment Workers Union, told AFP that some labor leaders had disappeared from sight.

He added, "We were not prepared for this unrest either, as the Wages Authority had already been formed. But the workers are now protesting over wages and other unresolved issues."

In Ashulia, security forces pursued protesters who dispersed into narrow side alleys, while suffocating tear gas seeped into crowded housing, where entire families often lived in one room.

“The police fired tear gas inside our residential complex,” said Kamona, 24, who only gave her first name. “We have children, but they don’t care.”

Sector representatives reported that workers at at least 529 factories in Dhaka and its surrounding industrial areas, including Savar, Ashulia, Girani and Ghazipur, left their work sites on Sunday.

© 2026 AFP

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