In brief
Bangladesh has formed a six‑member wage board to review the minimum garment‑worker wage, but protests and factory closures have persisted, leading to clashes with police. Workers demand a monthly wage more than double the current rate. The government warns that continued stoppages could delay export shipments and hurt the industry.
On Sunday, Bangladesh announced the creation of a six‑member wage board to review the minimum wage for garment workers, but thousands of workers in and around Dhaka were still on strike, sparking clashes with police and the shuttering of dozens of factories, Al Jazeera reported.
The board will be composed of representatives from the government, factory owners and workers and will determine a new minimum wage. Presently the sector’s workers receive a monthly wage of 12,500 taka (about $101), and the board is expected to set a figure closer to the 30,000‑taka (around $242) that the protestors are demanding.
Workers say that the rapid rise in the cost of food, housing, transport and health care has eroded their purchasing power, forcing them to demand a wage more than double what they earn today.
Protests erupted on Saturday in the industrial outskirts of Dhaka, prompting roughly 30 garment factories to declare holidays. In the Ashulia area, workers clashed with the Ashulia Industrial Police, who fired tear gas and sound grenades, and several individuals, including police officers, were injured, according to superintendent Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan.
Ministry of Labour and Employment adviser M Sakhawat Hossain Chowdhury told reporters that the wage board issue had "been resolved" and that workers should return to work and work smoothly.
"The issue of forming the wage board has been resolved. There will be no more problems now," he added. "The workers should return to work and work smoothly," he emphasised.
Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury warned that prolonged factory closures and production disruptions could delay export shipments and payments from international buyers, creating further difficulties for manufacturers and workers alike.
Bangladesh’s garment industry is the world’s second‑largest, after China’s, and contributes about 10 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Manufacturers point to challenges such as rising production costs, periodic gas and electricity shortages, and uncertainty in energy markets linked to the Middle East tensions.
As the wage board evaluates the proposed minimum wage, workers continue to strike, and factory closures threaten to disrupt the supply chain that underpins the nation’s export‑driven economy. The industrial sector and the government will be watching the board’s decision closely, while the strikers await a definitive wage figure that reflects their increased living costs.
