DHAKA, 23 May 2006 — More than 100 people were injured when security forces fired live rounds and used batons to disperse tens of thousands of textile workers protesting for higher wages near the Bangladesh capital yesterday, police said.
The protest started around noon at the Export Processing Zone, and its adjoining areas at Ashulia, 40 kilometers north of Dhaka, when an estimated 100,000 workers came onto the streets demanding higher wages, area police chief Jamiruddin Ahmed said. The protesters ransacked dozens of textile factories and at least half a dozen buses, Ahmed said.
“The unruly workers of the factory then agitated on the streets, blockading the highway and smashing vehicles. They forced workers at other factories to join them,” he said, adding that police rescued a factory owner from the mob.
They set two garment factories and several vehicles on fire.
Earlier, police used baton to disperse the mob that damaged some three dozens vehicles belonging to garment factories
Police and paramilitary forces in the zone shot at the workers to disperse the crowd, said the security officer for the export zone, Rezaul Karim.
Police said only half a dozen people were injured in the clashes. Witnesses put the number of injured at more than hundred, including those with bullet wounds.
The protesters are demanding at least 11 taka (16 cents) for every sweater they sew, a mandatory day off on Friday, regular payments and increased pay for overtime. The workers currently make about seven taka (11 cents) per sweater.
The protests continued until early evening with several thousand members of the police, the Rapid Action Battalion and the paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles guarding many factories in the area.
Meanwhile, a Jamatul Mujahedeen Bangladesh militant was sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment for carrying explosives in the capital.
