<p>DHAKA: Scores of Bangladeshi garment factories were shut on Thursday as protesting workers demanded higher wages, prompting owners to consider withholding pay from those on strike.
Key takeaways
Bangladeshi garment factories shut as workers strike for higher wages, prompting owners to consider withholding pay. The industry, worth US$38 billion annually, employs over four million, and a wage board agreed to raise minimum wage on November 4, with the new rate to be announced in December and effective January.
- Scores of factories shut after workers demanded higher wages.
- Minimum wage will be raised, but the new rate is not yet announced and will take effect in January.
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DHAKA: Scores of Bangladeshi garment factories were shut on Thursday as protesting workers demanded higher wages, prompting owners to consider withholding pay from those on strike.
The unrest, which began in October, threatens to disrupt an industry that earns around US$38 billion annually, accounting for four-fifths of the country's export earnings and employing more than four million workers.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has called for calm as wage negotiations continue.
The South Asian nation of 170 million people is the world's second-biggest garment exporter behind China, supplying major international fashion brands.
