factory strike and blockade grip country

[Saif Ahmed]

HEADLINE: Bangladesh factory strike and blockade hold tight

DATELINE: DHAKA, Feb 14

BODY:
Police and striking factory workers faced off on Tuesday in the
third day of
a wage protest which labour leaders say has claimed seven lives and
left nearly
300 people injured.

Abul Bashar, leader of the Workers' Action Committee, said five
people had
been shot at Ghorasal, 40 km (25 miles) from Dhaka, on Monday. He said
two
others were killed on Sunday on the outskirts of Dhaka.

Hospitals reported two dead in the wage protest since it began on
Sunday,
while the Home Ministry said one worker had been killed so far. The
death
reported by the ministry occurred when police fired on a rampaging mob
at
Ghorasal.

In a statement late on Monday, the ministry described the 96-hour
strike --
and a simultaneous daily eight-hour transport shutdown -- as "illegal
and
motivated."

It said the governemnt would do "everything necessary to prevent
destruction
of public pr nd disruption of communications and work."

Opposition parties have strong links with trade unions and backed
their actions, while the pro-communist Left Democratic Front called a
half-day general strike on Wednesday.

The workers, vowing to avenge the deaths of colleagues, again
blockaded roads on Tuesday and forced trains to halt across the
country, witnesses said.

Railway sources said police and pickets faced off against each
other at several places in southern districts of Khulna and
Chittagong.

"There can be an outburst any time," one official in Chittagong
told reporters.

Nearly 100,000 workers in private-owned jute and textile mills,
some of them privatised over the past two years, called for the
96-hour strike and the blockade to press demands for higher wages and
job security.

The Home Ministry statement said the workers had ignored requests
to settle the dispute through negotiations with their employers.

The workers said employers had failed to keep promises to increase
salaries and give adequate compensation for job losses due to
privatisation.

More than 20,000 jute mill workers lost jobs during privatisation
but many of them say they have not yet received promised compensation.

A wage commission representing government, private employers and
trade unions recommended the minimum monthly wage of an industrial
labourer as 1,493 taka ($37.32), a level fixed in 1991.
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| | Saifuddin Ahmed : |
| | sah...@occs.cs.oberlin.edu |
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