In December 1990 a fire broke out in a factory called Saraka near Dhaka whereby 25 women and children were killed. The number of dead was so high because there were no emergency exits. The city's garment workers came out in large numbers to protest the death of the workers. Some of them were dismissed after participating in one of the demonstrations. Working conditions in the garment industry are generally bad.
Garment workers make long hours for very meagre returns and under poor conditions.
Most shifts are between 9 and 12 hours, or even more, seven days a week. Overtime is often compulsory. The Government declared for the garment industry minimum wages of 930 taka per month. Women earn in between 400 and 1500 taka. Women are in wage discriminated compared to men since their work is often classified as semi-skilled.