INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Police in Bangladesh are investigating the murder of a prominent trade union leader who was fatally beaten while trying to settle a dispute
between a garment factory owner and workers over unpaid wages.Shahidul Islam, 45, a top labour organiser for the Bangladesh Garment and
Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF), was attacked on Sunday evening in Gazipur, a major garment industry hub on the outskirts of Dhaka,
after intervening on behalf of workers who had gathered to demand back pay.Ahmed Sharif, 35, a union organiser who was also wounded in the
attack, told the Guardian he and Islam had visited the Prince Jacquard Sweater factory several times in the run-up to the attack because
workers had been demanding unpaid salaries and wanted to be paid before Eid.After the intervention of Islam and other labour leaders, the
factory authorities reportedly promised the workers their wages would be paid on Sunday
organiser Shahidul Islam on Tuesday
Photograph: Redwan AhmedIslam and a group of fellow union leaders from other organisations reportedly entered the factory but could not find
anyone from management to speak to.Moments before the deadly assault at about 8pm, Islam addressed the crowd of workers and fellow
activists, appealing to them to remain calm and said they would be taking their complaint to the Department Of Factory Inspection and
time he and others were able to free him from the attackers, Islam was seriously injured and became unconscious
the president of the BGIWF, said that Islam had been a target in the past of threats and assaults due to his work.Dolly Akhtar, a trade
Photograph: Redwan AhmedMustofa Kamal, a 22-year-old activist who was with Islam at the factory and was attacked when he tried to intervene
was approached for comment but did not respond.
This article first appeared/also appeared in theguardian.com
