Clothing factories shut in Bangladesh as workers strike over pay
Garment workers in Bangladesh have shut down nearly 150 factories to protest for a higher minimum wage amid a cost-of-living crisis. The strike threatens the country's massive textile export industry, which serves major global brands.
Why it matters
As the world's second-largest garment exporter, prolonged unrest in Bangladesh could disrupt global supply chains for major fashion retailers.
Image source, Reuters Image caption, Protesters in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on Friday demanding a new minimum wage
Dozens of factories in Bangladesh's main clothes-producing area have been shut by workers striking over a higher minimum wage.
Nearly 150 sites across the country have been closed in the textile hubs of Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur this weekend.
The garment industry is big business for Bangladesh, generating nearly $40bn (£30bn) in exports every year and making up 10% of the country's total GDP.
Workers are striking over demands for a minimum wage of 30,000 taka (£182) a month. The minimum monthly wage in Bangladesh is currently 12,500 taka but employees say this is not enough to deal with the cost of living crisis.
On Sunday morning workers massed on the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur to block the road. Traffic was stopped by the protests for about an hour before police stepped in.
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