Bangladesh garment factories open after days of violence by thousands over wages

DHAKA, Bangladesh - About 700 garment factories in Bangladesh reopened Wednesday after days of violent protests by tens of thousands of workers demanding better wages.

Owners lifted an indefinite shutdown of the factories after the government promised to stop the violence, said Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.

"The factories resumed operation Wednesday and workers are reporting to duty," said Murshedy.

The manufacturers decided late Monday to close their factories because they had no other way to avoid anarchy in the major industrial hub outside the capital, Murshedy said.

Over the past week, thousands of workers took to the streets and attacked many factories. Hundreds were injured in clashes with police who tried to remove them.

The workers have demanded the minimum wage rise to 5,000 takas ($73) a month.

The current average monthly salary is 2,000 takas ($29) — making Bangladeshis the world's most poorly paid garment workers, according to the International Trade Union Confederation, a Vienna-based labour rights group.

Bangladesh has some 4,000 garment factories that export mainly to the United States and Europe.

Garment exports earn the country $12 billion. The industry employs 2 million people in Bangladesh and is a mainstay of the impoverished country's economy.

It has been hit hard by the global recession, however, and manufacturers say they're being squeezed by a slump in demand and higher production costs due to an energy crisis and poor infrastructure.