DHAKA: More than 5,000 Bangladesh workers who demanded higher wages have been fired by factory owners, and hundreds face police charges in the world’s second-largest garment export industry after China, an activist said Thursday.
Kalpona Akter of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity said the firings came after thousands of workers took to the streets earlier this month in and around Dhaka, the nation’s capital.
But an industry leader said Thursday that the dismissed workers were involved in vandalism or other crimes, or were laid off when factories closed because of business losses.
One worker was killed and more than 50 were injured in clashes during the protests in the Ashulia, Dhaka, Gazipur and Savar areas.
In November, the government increased the monthly minimum wage for garment workers to 8,000 takas ($96) from 5,300 takas ($63). But workers weren’t satisfied after having demanded more, along with the implementation of other benefits declared by the authorities. Unions and advocacy groups have demanded up to 16,000 takas ($193) as a minimum salary, but factory owners say they are under tremendous pressure to meet prices demanded by global brands.
The industry exports about $30 billion worth of garments a year, mainly to Europe and North America.
Akter said hundreds of workers are facing looting and vandalism charges and some have also been accused of attempted murder. More than 50 workers were arrested and many others have fled their rented homes in the industrial zones, she said.
“We came to know at least 5,000 workers have been sacked, but the actual figure by this time could be about 7,000,” she said. “Many workers are being harassed.”
The president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said he did not know the exact number of workers who have lost their jobs, and no innocent people were facing any legal trouble.
“Some of the workers were involved in vandalism, looting and other crimes,” association President Siddiqur Rahman told The Associated Press. “They will damage our factories, they will destroy very expensive equipment, they will smash our vehicles and beat our officials. Should not we report it to police? If you are the owner what would you do?“
He said the industry has a shortage of workers.
“Why should I sack my workers if my business is good, if I make money? We have huge bank loans, we have many other liabilities, why would an owner fire their workers without any genuine reasons?“
He said the situation is now under control.
Thousands fired after garment industry protest in Bangladesh
Thousands fired after garment industry protest in Bangladesh
- The industry exports about $30 billion worth of garments a year, mainly to Europe and North America
- One worker was killed and more than 50 were injured in clashes during the protests in the Ashulia, Dhaka, Gazipur and Savar areas
Kabul shakes as 5.8-magnitude earthquake hits eastern Afghanistan
- The 5.8-magnitude quake struck a mountainous area around 130 kilometers northeast of Kabul
- Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range
KABUL: A strong earthquake rocked eastern Afghanistan including the capital Kabul on Friday, AFP journalists and residents said.
The 5.8-magnitude quake struck a mountainous area around 130 kilometers (80 miles) northeast of Kabul, the United States Geological Survey said.
The epicenter was near several remote villages and struck at 5:39 p.m. (1309 GMT), just as people in the Muslim-majority country were sitting down to break their Ramadan fast.
“We were waiting to do our iftars, a heavy earthquake shook us. It was very strong, it went on for almost 30 seconds,” said Zilgay Talabi, a resident of Khenj district near of the epicenter.
“Everyone was horrified and scared,” Talabi told AFP, saying he feared “landslides and avalanches” may follow.
Power was briefly cut in parts of the capital, while east of Kabul an AFP journalist in Nangarhar province also felt it.
Earthquakes are common in Afghanistan, particularly along the Hindu Kush mountain range, near where the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates meet.
Haqmal Saad, spokesman for the Panjshir province police, described the quake as “very strong” and said the force was “gathering information on the ground.”
Mohibullah Jahid, head of Panjshir Natural Disaster Management agency, told AFP he was in touch with several officials in the area.
The district governor had told him there were reports of “minor damage, such as cracks in the walls, but we have not received anything serious, such as the collapse of houses or anything similar,” Jahid said.
Residents in Bamiyan and Wardak provinces, west of Kabul, told AFP they also felt the earthquake.
In Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, rescue service official Bilal Ahmad Faizi said the quake was felt in border areas.
In August last year, a shallow 6.0-magnitude quake in the country’s east wiped out mountainside villages and killed more than 2,200 people.
Weeks later, a 6.3-magnitude quake in northern Afghanistan killed at least 27 people.
Large tremors in western Herat, near the Iranian border, in 2023, and in Nangarhar province in 2022, killed hundreds and destroyed thousands of homes.
Many homes in the predominantly rural country, which has been devastated by decades of war, are shoddily built.
Poor communication networks and infrastructure in mountainous Afghanistan have hampered disaster responses in the past, preventing authorities from reaching far-flung villages for hours or even days before they could assess the extent of the damage.
