Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas yesterday as some 50,000 garment workers staged protests over wage cuts near the Bangladeshi capital, officials said.
Two people have died and scores have been injured in violent clashes as protests entered a second day and spread to scores of factories at the Ashulia industrial zone 30km outside Dhaka, police officials said.
The new clashes came a day after one garment laborer was shot and killed and several injured when around 7,000 workers clashed with police over wage cuts and unpaid salaries. Police officer Rehana Begum said the body of another laborer was recovered from the area yesterday, bringing the death toll to two. Scores of officers and workers were also injured in the clashes, she added.
PHOTO: AFP
Factories in Bangladesh have been hit hard by the global economic crisis, with several reportedly cutting wages to compete for orders with other producing countries, such as Vietnam, China and India.
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