New York, Nov 6 (IANS) Several leading international human rights organisations strongly condemned the violence against garment workers in Bangladesh, who have been protesting for fair wages and basic labour rights.

The condemnation came amid escalating unrest in the garment industry, with several people, including law enforcement personnel, injured and more than 200 factories in Savar and Ashulia forced to declare holidays as protests by garment workers turned violent.

The protests reportedly spread across several industrial areas in the country over the past few days, with workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000.

Expressing grave concern, the US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) said that Bangladesh police had used batons and tear gas to disperse thousands of garment workers protesting for higher wages.

It also flagged reports of violence by thugs allegedly linked to factory owners and political parties, arson, vandalism of factories and attacks on police, highlighting the escalating violence surrounding the workers' agitation.

“Consistent with international standards, Bangladesh authorities should ensure that police use force only when necessary and proportionate, and that those responsible for violence are held accountable,” the HRW stated.

Reports suggest that a garment worker, Toufiq Hossain, who was critically injured during a clash amid protests in Gazipur district's Joydebpur, died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka on November 3.

Speaking to HRW, a co-worker of Toufiq said: “We were returning to the factory (after lunch) when Toufiq got caught between protesting workers and men hired to tackle the protest by another garment factory. When I looked back, I saw Toufiq lying on the ground. The hired men had beaten him brutally.”

The rights body alleged that instead of addressing legitimate demands for living wages, Bangladeshi authorities are blaming the political opposition for instigating protests.

It cited Dhaka police, who said they had arrested 33 supporters of the Awami League on November 3, for sabotage. However, several others alleged that members of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) youth wing had targeted protesting workers.

Meanwhile, Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) sharply criticised the recent brutal repression of protesting garment workers in the South Asian nation.

The rights body raised grave concern over the reported killing of a garment worker, widespread police violence, arbitrary arrests, attacks allegedly carried out by members of the BNP, and the mass filing of criminal cases against thousands of people.

Citing Bangladeshi media and information obtained from its sources, the JMBF said that at least one garment worker has been killed, more than 210 people injured, as many as 216 arrested, and 18 criminal cases filed against approximately 19,521 people until Thursday.

“Garment workers are demanding wages that allow them to feed their families and live with dignity. They must not be met with batons, tear gas, arrests, and thousands of criminal accusations. The death of Toufiq Hossain demands justice, not political excuses. No government has the right to turn a legitimate struggle for fair wages into a campaign of fear and repression,” said JMBF Founder President Shahanur Islam.

--IANS

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