"‘Release all arrested RMG workers, leaders’", 10 December 2023

In a joint statement issued yesterday, 37 Bangladeshi citizens demanded immediate release of the garment workers and their leaders who were arrested during their recent movement demanding higher wages.

They also demanded a thorough investigation into the deaths of four workers, including three killed by police and one in a fire, terming the government and factory owners responsible for the deaths...

The statement further said that the workers took to the streets to demand a review of the wage board's decision to fix Tk 12,500 as minimum wage. However, instead of considering their democratic demand for a higher minimum wage of Tk 25,000, the government and factory owners cracked down on the workers, arresting, harassing and firing at them.

The statement urged the government to respect the workers' right to organise and protest, release all the workers and their leaders arrested in 53 cases, and compensate the families of deceased workers.

The signatories include: economist Prof Anu Muhammad; rights activist Hameeda Hossain; Khushi Kabir, coordinator of Nijera Kori; anthropologist Rahnuma Ahmed; Supreme Court lawyer Jyotirmoy Barua; photographer Shahidul Alam; and Taslima Akhter, president of Bangladesh Garment Sramik Samhati; among others.