DHAKA, Bangladesh — Police in Bangladesh fired tear gas and used stun grenades Wednesday to disperse garment workers protesting for higher wages, police and witnesses said.
\n\nHundreds of factories remained shut after days of protests disrupted the country’s garment industry, which earns about $40 billion a year from exports. Bangladesh has 2,500 garment factories.
\n\nWorkers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 takas ($245), up from 12,500 takas. They say rising living costs and inflation have eroded their purchasing power.
\n\nThe industry employs about 4 million workers, mostly women from rural Bangladesh.
\n\nAfter days of demonstrations in the capital, Dhaka, violence was reported in several industrial areas on its outskirts.
\n\nIn Fatullah, in Narayanganj district outside Dhaka, dozens of people were injured in clashes between protesters and police officers, according to media reports. Police fired tear gas and used stun grenades.
\n\nProthom Alo, Bangladesh’s largest Bengali-language daily newspaper, reported that police arrested several protesters in Fatullah.
\n\nAbout 100 factories remain shut in Ashulia, in Savar near Dhaka, said Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of Ashulia Industrial Police.
\n\nWorkers also blocked a major highway in Gazipur district, another major industrial hub.
\n\nMore than 10,000 police officers had been deployed in Dhaka’s…
Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/business