US urges Bangladesh to revisit wage decision after deadly protests

By AFP
November 09, 2023
Garments workers walk off a factory at lunch break in Ashulia on November 8, 2023, a day after Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers. — AFP
Garments workers walk off a factory at lunch break in Ashulia on November 8, 2023, a day after Minimum Wage Board authority declared the minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113) for garment workers. — AFP

WASHINGTON: The United States called on Wednesday on Bangladesh to revisit its recent minimum wage decision and to protect workers´ rights after police shot dead a woman during the latest protests by garment laborers.

“The United States urges the tripartite process to revisit the minimum wage decision to ensure that it addresses the growing economic pressures faced by workers and their families,” he said, referring to an internationally backed structure set up after the 2013 collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building, which left at least 1,134 people dead.

Anjuara Khatun, a 23-year-old sewing machine operator and mother of two, was shot in the head and killed when police fired on Wednesday on protesters in the industrial city of Gazipur, her widower told AFP. The US said it was “concerned about the ongoing repression of workers and trade unionists.”