Dhaka: More than 50 people were injured on Saturday when police fired rubber bullets at thousands of garment factory workers protest over unpaid wages in an industrial town north of Dhaka, police said.

Police Chief Constituency Nuruzzaman Mahfuzul Haq at least 10,000 workers attacked police with stones and bricks, prompting them to respond with rubber bullets and tear gas.

At least 50 workers and a number of police officers were injured in the clashes, police sub-inspector Maleka Begum said.

The private television station Bangla Vision said at least two workers and two policemen were killed and wounded more than 100 works, many of them with gunshot wounds in the fierce fighting.

“The garment workers demanding wage arrears Nippon owners after the factory closed without notice. The workers became angry rebel this morning and attacked the police,” said Begum.

The workers also damaged and burned vehicles and barricaded a key highway, cutting off communications between the capital and northern districts of Bangladesh, he added.

Factories in the South Asian nation have been affected by the global economic crisis with various cutting wages to compete for orders to other producing countries such as Vietnam, China and India.

The accounts of cheap clothing from 80 percent of Bangladesh’s exports, which are vital to the economy.

Forty percent of the industrial workforce is employed in the Bangladesh garment sector.