Lavoratori del Bangladesh protestano per la paga

La polizia della capitale del Bangladesh Dhaka afferma che migliaia di lavoratori dell'industria del vestiario, che vogliono uno stipendio minimo più alto, hanno bloccato le strade e attaccato negozi e fabbriche.

Fonti ufficiali dicono che migliaia di lavoratori hanno prima bloccato uno dei principali snodi stradali della città e poi hanno iniziato ad attaccare svariate automobili in un quartiere industriale. Un poliziotto di alto grado ha detto alla BBC che i protestatori hanno iniziato in seguito a lanciare sassi alle fabbriche.

Ha detto che un altro gruppo di lavoratori dell'industria del vestario ha preso di mira alcuni negozi di lusso, saccheggiando il contenuto e poi dando fuoco agli edifici.

Forze di polizia aggiuntive sono accorse sulla scena. Alcuni sindacati hanno respinto il nuovo stipendio minimo di 43$ al mese per lavoratori nell'industria del vestiario annunciato dal governo giovedì. Vogliono un salario minimo di almeno 70$.

Più di tre milioni di persone, soprattutto donne, lavorano in Bangladesh nell'industria del vestiario, che è un settore chiave dell'economia del Paese.

Testo originale: BBC Words in the News 30 luglio 2010

Bangladeshi workers protest over pay

Police in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka say thousands of garment factory workers, who want higher minimum wages, have blocked roads and attacked shops and factories.

• garment factory workers: people who make the items sold in the clothing
• blocked: prevented something from moving through - in this case, traffic on the roads

Officials say thousands of workers first blocked one of the city's key link roads and then started attacking several cars in a factory district. A senior police official told the BBC that the protesters later started throwing stones at the factories.

• key link roads: very important roads which connect major areas of the city and are used by many people
• a factory district: an area with lots of buildings where large amounts of goods are manufactured
• protesters: people who show they disagree with something by gathering in an area, shouting, singing, carrying signs or in other ways

He said another group of garment factory workers had targeted some luxury shops, looting the contents and then setting fire to the buildings.
industry

• targeted: aimed an attack at a particular place
• looting the contents: stealing things (usually carried out by large numbers of people during a violent event or protest)

Additional police forces have been rushed to the scene. Some of the workers unions have rejected the new minimum wage of $43 a month for garment factory workers announced by the government on Thursday. They want a minimum salary of at least $70.

• workers unions: organisations that represent the people who work in a particular industry, protecting their rights, pay and working conditions
• minimum salary: the smallest amount of money allowed to be paid to people for the work they do

More than three million people, mostly women, work in Bangladesh's garment industry, which is a key sector of the country's economy.

• key sector: very important part