"International pressure mounts on Bangladesh to safeguard workers’ rights", 10 November 2023

In a recent press statement, Matthew Miller, the US Department of State spokesperson condemned the violence against workers advocating for a minimum wage increase and raised alarms about the criminalisation of legitimate worker and trade union activities.

The statement, released on 8 November expressed concern over the escalating and ongoing repression of workers and trade unionists in Bangladesh the US called on the government of Bangladesh to safeguard workers’ rights to peaceful protest and investigate allegations of false criminal charges against workers and labour leaders.

The last few weeks have seen civil unrest and demonstrations in Bangladesh which intensified after the fourth meeting of the country’s wage board...where garment factory owners proposed to increase the minimum wage to TK10,400, half of what the union had initially proposed.

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In the statement, the US mourned the tragic incidents during the protests in Bangladesh involving Rasel Howlader, a 26-year-old factory worker and union member from Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, who was reportedly killed by the police last week and the loss of Imran Hossain, a 32-year-old worker who died in a fire set by protestors inside a Dhaka factory.