Thousands of Bangladesh’s garment factory workers protest demanding better wages

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Thousands of garment factory workers have taken to the streets of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, and the industrial district of Gazipur to demand better wages. Protests erupted over the weekend after BGMEA offered to increase the monthly minimum wage by 25% to reach $90, instead of the $208 demanded by the workers. While Bangladesh has been maintaining stable annual economic growth for years, rising inflation has become a major challenge. Bangladesh has about 3,500 garment factories employing about 4 million workers. It earns $55 billion a year from exports, mainly to the United States and Europe.