Dhaka , Bangladesh ( CNN ) -- Thousands of apparel workers clashed with police in Bangladesh , demanding higher pay on Monday , police and officials said . The workers are demanding a minimum monthly pay of $ 104 revising the present $ 38 a month . Police said violence mostly erupted in Gazipur and Savar , on the outskirts of capital Dhaka , where there are hundreds of apparel factories producing clothes for leading global brands from Europe and America . The workers fought pitched battles with police and set fire to vehicles and part of some apparel factories in Gazipur , forcing the owners to shut down all factories in Gazipur district and its adjoining areas . Factories face inspections after safety deal . Several thousand workers also took to the streets in capital Dhaka , but they were dispersed by police and did not appear to commit any violence . A cabinet minister Shahjahan Khan after a meeting with the factory owners and representatives of the workers called for calm and asked the workers to return to work . 16 days buried in the rubble . Khan himself led a huge rally of the apparel workers in the capital on Saturday , demanding $ 104 as minimum monthly wage for the workers . The recent unrest began Saturday when workers were denied leave from the factories to join Khan 's rally . Inside a Bangladesh garment factory . Khan , however , at a news briefing on Monday said the unrest might be linked to outsider involvement , but did not give any details . `` Additional forces will be deployed to maintain law and order in the industrial districts , '' said Khan , also a transport labor leader . Promise of a new start after recovery efforts in building collapse . The government recently constituted a wage board for fixing minimum wages for apparel workers , but the board was yet to come to a final decision , while the owners offered a 20 % rise . Bangladesh earns about $ 20 billion a year , 80 % of the total export , by selling clothes to European and American brands . In April 2013 , over 1,100 people were killed when an eight-story apparel factory building caved in and collapsed in Savar . In November 2012 , a fire at an apparel factory in Savar killed 112 people . Opinion : The bloodshed behind our cheap clothes .
Bangladesh apparel workers clash with police on outskirts of Dhaka . The violence erupted after the government announced a new minimum wage for garment workers. Cabinet minister calls for calm .