Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
(AP) - THE CONFLICT: Scores were injured after police fired rubber bullets and tear gas in the third day of clashes with thousands of garment workers demanding better minimum wages. More than 100 factories were closed.
THE ISSUE: The workers are demanding that their minimum monthly wage be raised to 8,114 takas (around $100) from the current 3,000 takas ($38). Factory owners are unwilling to increase the monthly wage beyond 3,600 takas ($45).
BACK STORY: Bangladesh earns about $20 billion a year from exporting garment products, its main business. It employs about 4 million workers. Harsh and often unsafe working conditions in the garment industry have gained global attention.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
