DHAKA (AFP) - Foreign investors shut down their factories near Bangladesh's capital Dhaka after thousands of textile workers staged fresh walkouts over low wages amid government calls for calm, officials said.
The foreign investors announced the closures of their factories in the Dhaka Export Processing Zone (DEPZ) at Ashulia in a press conference late Saturday, Kamal Akhter, general manager of DEPZ said.
"They've said that they would not open the factories unless given full protection by the authorities," Akhter said, adding he did not know how many factories were being closed by the owners.
There are over 60 foreign owned companies in the DEPZ, one of Bangladesh's seven special economic zones where foreign investors enjoy special tax and fiscal benefits.
"We need protection from the government," Kihak Sung, the South Korean owner of DEPZ's biggest garment factory and president of the DEPZ investors forum, told the briefing by a video link from
South Korea.
The call for protection came as thousands of workers staged fresh protests Saturday at DEPZ demanding better wages, overtime and a mandatory weekly day off, officials said.
At least ten factories in the zone were shut down after the walkout, Akhter said.
Hundreds of police were called to prevent any violence, said Dhaka district police chief Jahirul Islam Bhuiyan.
Local television footage showed police officers using batons to disperse the protesters. Bhuiyan, however, said the protests were largely peaceful.
Last week, tens of thousands of workers rioted in Dhaka and adjoining industrial zones, torching at least 16 factories and ransacking another 300.
Two workers were killed and scores injured after security officers shot at the crowd.
Bangladesh's commerce and labour ministers urged the workers to remain calm after the latest closures, he added.
Commerce Minister Hafizuddin Ahmed told workers he would sit with their representatives and foreign investors Sunday to find a "peaceful solution" to the labour unrest.
"I will talk (to) all the parties including the owners, workers' representatives and the unions to discuss the issues. We hope we will be able to find a peaceful solution," Ahmed told reporters.
"We cannot allow any more ransacking and chaos. The government will do everything to restore order," the minister said.
Trouble also flared at several other factories in the Ashulia industrial town but outside the DEPZ, police said.
Bangladesh has more than 4,200 garment factories.
The industry accounts for more than three-quarters of the country's 9.3-billion-dollar export earnings and employs 40 percent of Bangladesh's industrial workers.
Business has been booming since the end of global textile quotas but the sector is notorious for shabby safety standards and low wages.
Last week's rioting workers returned to work after owners agreed with government officials and union representatives to pay rises.
The increases have not yet been finalized.
