DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh police fired tear gas and swung batons as thousands of garment workers demonstrated for better wages for a fourth day Wednesday, shutting down factories on the outskirts of the capital. Police fired tear gas and water cannons to prevent demonstrators from blocking the road leading to Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. Bangladesh’s garment industry generates around $30 billion in exports a year, making it the second largest in the world after China. For months, workers have been demanding a higher minimum pay than what the government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has proposed. The booming garment industry has been a pillar of Hasina’s economic development strategy for Bangladesh, where annual per capita income has nearly tripled since 2009 to $1,750.

Source: Egypt Independent January 09, 2019 09:00 UTC