Garment factory tied to Yunus shut in Bangladesh

A garment factory connected to the Grameen Bank's founder has been closed after workers protesting for better wages vandalized the factory, officials said Wednesday.

Local police official Sirajul Islam said Wednesday the shutdown of Grameen Knitwear Ltd. was indefinite.

Islam said hundreds of workers demanded Tuesday that the factory management provide them with 10 percent more wages and increase food and transport allowances. The factory is located in Savar, just outside the capital, Dhaka.

He said he received complaints that the workers damaged the factory windows and took away some valuables during Tuesday's violence.

Police were investigating, he said.

Senior factory official Kutub Khan Chowdhury told The Associated Press by phone on Wednesday that the factory operators were trying to resolve the disputes and reopen. The factory employs 2,400 workers, he said.

Chowdhury said the attack could be a ploy to destabilize the factory. But he would not elaborate.

He said there was no reason to be violent for demanding better wages as "we pay much better than other factories."

Grameen Bank and its founder Muhammad Yunus were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for pioneering microlending. The government removed Yunus as bank managing director in May over a retirement age dispute.

The factory is an associated organization and Yunus was chairman of the factory.

Bangladesh earns more than $12 billion in garment exports, mainly to the United States and the European Union.

The official minimum monthly wage for a new garment worker is 3,000 takas ($45).

The sector has employed about 2 million workers, mostly women.

Source:bloomberg.com