Bangladesh

Bangladeshi wage increase

Bangladeshi workers have won a 77% increase in the minimum wage which will rise to 5,300 takas (£43) per month. The increase comes after months of struggle following the Rana Plaza factory collapse in April, in which over 1,000 workers were killed. A 10-day wave of protests from 21 September saw tens of thousands of workers mobilise, demanding an even higher increase (8,114 takas, a 170% increase). Protests were continuing as recently as Thursday 14 November. Many protests had been met with police repression, including the use of tear-gas. The Bangladeshi minimum wage is one of the lowest in...

Global strikes and solidarity

The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade unions (HKCTU) held a solidarity rally on 1 October at a Government office in Hong Kong. The demonstration called for the release of Wu Guijun, imprisoned for organising with co-workers against job losses when the furniture factory where they worked re-locates. According to the IUF trade union federation: “The workers downed tools on 7 May and petitioned the local government to intervene. On 23 May, 300 workers were besieged by the police while marching to the City Government; more than 20 workers were arrested and detained, including Wu Guijun. All were...

Bangladesh: learning the right lessons

This article appeared in Our Times, a Canadian trade union magazine. Click here for the original article. The deaths of more than 1,000 workers in the Rana Plaza building collapse in April provoked a flurry of activity among campaigning organizations around the world. In particular, the online campaigners - groups like Avaaz, Change.org, and the relatively new SumOfUs.org - rushed to get out campaigns in response. These were all roughly along the same lines: we Western consumers must pressure the companies that make our clothing to behave better in the future. This is all very well meaning...

Bangladesh: workers oppose the Islamists

Badrul Alam from the Communist Party of Bangladesh (Marxist-Leninist) spoke to Solidarity . We’ve read about big demonstrations organised by Islamists demanding stronger religious laws. What effect are they having on the garment workers’ movement? There have been very big demonstrations but their demands are illegitimate. They are not rational. Mostly their demands are against the rights of women — they are demanding that the government pass a law restricting women’s rights. Their demands are medieval. They believe in the rule of the Qu’ran, in the rule of Allah; their organisation is called...

Bangladesh unrest grows as death toll rises

The death toll from the Rana Plaza factory collapse has now passed 700. It is one of the worst industrial disasters in recent history, and the worst ever in Bangladesh. A government building inspector has confirmed that the building, which housed five factories, was built with inadequate, weak materials that could not withstand vibrations caused by electricity generators on the top floor. The building’s architect has said it was intended to house residential or light commercial properties rather than heavy industry. Primark, one of the western suppliers which sourced textiles from the factory...

Dhaka factory tragedy: capitalism is guilty

On the afternoon of 24 April, Rana Plaza, an eight-storey building housing textile factories in Savar, a suburb of the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, collapsed. When rescuers gave up searching for survivors on 29 April, the official death toll was 380. Local police ordered an evacuation of the building on Tuesday 23 April after workers reported cracks in the building’s structure. The factory owners ignored these concerns and forced more than 2,000 workers to remain in the building. Workers reported the use of intimidation tactics, including threats of docking pay, to silence those who spoke out...

Protest at Primark, Matalan, Mango!

The National Garment Workers' Federation (NGWF) in Bangladesh has launched a petition. It asks UK high street chains Primark, Mango, and Matalan to commit to forcing their Bangladeshi suppliers to comply with the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement. We also demand that the big chains force suppliers to allow trade unions to organise in their factories and to negotiate with workers' own representatives. AWL calls on other socialists and trade unionists to join us in protests outside Primark, Matalan, and Mango shops to raise these demands. Contact us on 07796 690 874. 12-2pm, outside...

Factory fire deaths: this was murder

At least 112 workers were killed in the fire on 24 November at the Tazreen Fashions garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Every year dozens are killed in such fires. They are murdered by a venal system overseen by culpable individuals. The mainly women workers were caught out when a fire broke out on the ground floor of the factory. There were no emergency exits. Some workers jumped out of windows to their deaths. Rescue workers have found many unrecognisable bodies; families will not even be able bury their dead relatives. At least 3.5 million workers across over 4,000 factories work in...

Islamist is new UAF vice-chair

The new vice chair of Unite Against Fascism is Azad Ali, leading activist in the Islamic Forum of Europe, an Islamist group based mainly in the Bengali community of East London. There are many things socialists should say about UAF, Ali and the IFE, but I want to concentrate on one. Our comrades, particularly in the student movement, are regularly called racist by the SWP and their friends for our position on Palestine. We oppose the Israeli occupation and support Palestinian struggle against it. Some of our members have travelled to Palestine, and been tear-gassed by the IDF while protesting...

Bangladeshi garment workers rally in support of N30 strikes

By Amirul Haque Amin, President, NGWF Today, 30 November in the capital city of Dhaka, the National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) organized a solidarity rally in support of striking workers in the UK. Several hundred garment workers took part in the rally with Bangladeshi flags and red flag. The rally was was address comrade Rashed Khan Menon MP, Mr. Steve Grinter (Education Secretary of the International Textile, Garments and Leather Workers Federation) as well as representatives of thr Trade Union Congress, student leader Mr. Bappadittaya Boshu (President of Student Unity of Bangladesh)...

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