Fifty hurt as textile workers protest turns violent
Dhaka: Over 50 people were injured when textile workers, demanding better pay, torched two factories and several vehicles and clashed with riot police in an industrial town near Dhaka, officials and witnesses said.
Workers of the textile units in the Savar Export Processing Zone had taken out a rally demanding better wages and incentives including a mandatory Friday off and overtime allowances.
The protests turned violent when some of the workers were stopped from joining the rally and in the rampage that followed over 100 factories were damaged and two factories and a dozen vehicle were set ablaze, witnesses said.
Later, the agitated workers blocked the Tongi-Ashulia road, stranding hundreds of vehicles.
Heavy contingents of police and Rapid Action Batallion forces were also deployed in the area.
According to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority, the protests had turned violent after outsiders entered the specialised area.
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association (BGMEA) smelt a `conspiracy' in the spate of such incidents that have been occuring of late and called for a government probe.
According to the BGMEA, the factories that were damaged were employee-friendly and were prompt in the payment of wages to their workers.
The BGMEA leaders also met Commerce Minister Hafiz Uddin over the incident.
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