Bangladesh garment workers continue fourth day of wage protests

Garment workers in Bangladesh have continued protests demanding higher wages for a fourth day, despite the government announcing a committee to review the minimum wage in the country’s major clothing industry.

Police used tear gas against demonstrators on Monday in Ashulia, an industrial area near Dhaka. Industry representatives said workers at at least 670 factories had stopped work, threatening production in a sector that employs more than four million people and generates most of Bangladesh’s export earnings.

The workers have ignored calls to return to the factories, according to a report by Nieuws.nl, which attributed its account to ANP, AFP and Bloomberg. The report did not give the wage increase sought by protesters or details of the government committee’s remit.