Clothing factories shut in Bangladesh as workers strike over pay

Dozens of factories in Bangladesh's main clothes-producing area have been shut by workers striking over a higher minimum wage. Nearly 150 sites across the country have been closed in the textile hubs of Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur this weekend. The garment industry is big business for Bangladesh, generating nearly $40bn (£30bn) in exports every year and making up 10% of the country's total GDP. Workers are striking over demands for a minimum wage of 30,000 taka (£182) a month. The minimum monthly wage in Bangladesh is currently 12,500 taka but employees say this is not enough to deal with the cost of living crisis. On Sunday morning workers massed on the Dhaka-Tangail highway in Gazipur to block the road.