SQ Group

ILO violation 87 : At FS Sweaters at Gazipur, a pattern of alleged cheating in wage rate calculation, compounded by verbal abuse of workers, caused a series of confrontations between workers and management that in turn resulted in the detention in the factory of three workers’ leaders. Management also filed charges against another 80 workers. Workers walked off the job, prompting a strike on 23 May, and management escalated the situation by calling in hired thugs to attack the workers on the picket. When the strikers fought back, the factory management called in the police who opened fire on the strikers, killing one worker and injuring others. As news of the killing spread, workers rioted, attacking factories, and closing roads. Within a day, the riot spread to the Savar EPZ and to other districts of Uttara, Mirpur, Kafrul, Old Dhaka, and Tejgaeon. Media accounts described dozens of factories burnt by rampaging. The government deployed the Army’s Rapid Action Battalion to restore order, and harshly cracked down, arresting hundreds of workers.: Bangladesh