Bangladesh’s garment industry lost US$400 million to anti-Sheikh Hasina protests

The South Asian nation’s 3,500 garment factories account for around 85 per cent of its US$55 billion in annual exports, but the unrest caused significant disruptions to the linchpin industry.

An interim government, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus took over, but protests in a string of garment factories continued with workers demanding jobs and better pay.

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Such demonstrations sometimes spiralled into violence. On September 30, a garment worker was killed and 20 were injured in clashes between protesters and the police.

Kalpana Akhtar, president of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation, said on Sunday that there had to be “a drastic change in the attitude” of factory owners and the government.