The Socialist 4 August 2010 Con-Dem cuts mean: we need ‘biggest movement since poll tax’ 
We need 'biggest movement since poll tax' 'Radical' cuts require serious action Waltham Forest's Labour council faces opposition Coventry campaigners fight cuts of £140 million Swansea trades council leads battle for services Campaigners answer Bristol's 'Big Conversation' Cuts news: Mental health services facing the axe Afghanistan: US strategy in disarray Oppose divisive academies policy Talks resume at British Airways Angry workers strike over pay freeze and bosses' bonuses Witch-hunted Unison activist wins tribunal Unite general secretary election We won't be a lost generation, fight for jobs and education! No to privatisation of our universities For real jobs, not slave labour Profiting from wrecking the environment Daily Mail admits guilt over smearing Tamil hunger striker Socialism 2010 - a weekend of discussion and debate Love Parade catastrophe was entirely preventable Garment workers demand a living wage Tories put profits before patients Rich just carry on getting richer |
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Home | The Socialist 4 August 2010 | Join the Socialist Party Garment workers demand a living wageThousands of garment workers in Bangladesh took to the streets of Dhaka to dismiss the recently announced increase in the minimum wage as completely inadequate. The increase proposed by the government's National Wage Board - from $23 a month to $43 a month - follows a period of intense struggle by garment workers who are demanding $75 a month in wages. The new minimum wage is the maximum wage factory owners have said they are prepared to pay. Labour unions say that the cost of living has soared by 200% since the last increase in the minimum wage in 2006 which affects 2.5 million, mainly women, workers. They say a wage of $150 a month is necessary as a living wage. Last month, police attacked striking garment workers with bamboo staves, tear gas and water cannon. Children, many of whom work illegally in the myriad of textile factories in and around Dhaka, were also beaten by police. One estimate records 72 incidents of industrial action in the first half of 2010 with nearly 1,000 workers injured by police and 45 arrested. Bangladesh employers, who make clothing for big western brands such as Marks and Spencer, Wal-Mart and H&M, have also hired goons to intimidate textile workers. Bangladesh's garment exports have increased to around $12 billion a year (80% of Bangladesh's export earnings) from just $5 billion in 2002, fuelled by low labour costs that have attracted top western brands. Nine female workers were left injured. Workers were incensed over the sacking by management of a union rep and had demonstrated by blocking roads in the capital city, Phnom Penh. Police with a court order tried to clear roads and force the workers back to work. The garment industry is notorious for low wages and poor working conditions. In 2009 employers laid off 30,000 textile workers, blaming the recession in the US and Europe cutting demand for goods. In this issue
Anti-cuts campaign
War and occupation
Accademies
Workplace news and analysis
Workplace Debate
Youth fight for jobs
Environment and socialism
Tamil Solidarity
Socialist Party LGBT Socialist Party events
International socialist news and analysis
Socialist Party news and analysis
Review & Comment
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