Thousands of workers marched in the capital Dhaka’s Mirpur area to protest job losses and the abrupt closure of a garment factory.
The law enforcing agencies fired several gunshots to disperse them, leaving the two workers shot and several others injured during protests in the Kachukhet area of Mirpur in the capital on Thursday.
The injured workers, identified as Al Amin, 17, and Jhuma Akter, 15, are employees of San Tex Fashion Garments in the area.
Whenever workers raise their voices, they are ignored; when they try to organize, they are threatened and sacked; and finally, when workers protest, they are beaten, shot at and arrested.
While speaking to Amnesty International, many union leaders have reported that keeping thousands of protestors unnamed in the criminal cases is used as a blanket threat for grounds for dismissal to further intimidate the factory workers. The tactic is also used for denying any potential claims for injury or compensation by workers during the protests. This has resulted in a chilling effect on union leaders and labour rights groups who have effectively been silenced due to fear of arrest, detention and imprisonment.
Bangladesh’s ready-made garment industry, which supplies many of the world’s top fashion brands, accounts for over 80% of the country’s export earnings.
The country was ranked the third-largest exporter of clothing globally last year, after China and the European Union, exporting $38.4 billion worth of garments in 2023, according to the World Trade Organization.
“In addition to the lack of justice, most workers today are still fighting for decent wages in an industry that brings the most revenue to Bangladesh and paying a heavy price for fighting for their rights.”
