Key facts
- The BGMEA said demonstrations in multiple cities disrupted operations at 529 factories and affected nearly 1 million workers.
- Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka ($243), up from 12,500 taka.
- The government formed a six-member minimum wage board on Sunday to review the demand.
- Police in Dhaka used tear gas and water cannon on Sunday to disperse protesters blocking roads in industrial areas.
- BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said owners would invoke a "no work, no pay" provision if protests forced factory closures.
Bangladesh's garment factories reopened on Monday after closures and production disruptions the previous day, but manufacturers said they remain concerned about further unrest over workers' demands for higher wages. The ready-made garment sector accounts for more than 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings, employs about 4 million workers and contributes around 10% of gross domestic product, according to the report.
The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said demonstrations in multiple cities disrupted operations at 529 factories and affected nearly 1 million workers. Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka ($243), up from 12,500 taka. The government formed a six-member minimum wage board on Sunday to review the demand, but the move did not immediately quell the unrest.
Workers set up road blockades in several industrial areas on Sunday, and police in Dhaka used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters. BGMEA President Mahmud Hasan Khan said the government had taken a step by forming the wage board and that factory owners expected workers to allow the review to proceed. He said that if protests broke out later and factories were forced to shut, owners would invoke a "no work, no pay" provision, and that industry representatives were scheduled to meet the home minister to discuss the unrest.
Babul Akhter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation and a workers' representative on the wage board, said Bangladesh has among the lowest garment wages in the world and that owners unable to pay properly should negotiate better prices with international buyers. Factory owners said the industry faces higher costs, energy market uncertainty linked to conflict in the Middle East and slowing demand in key export markets.
Selim Raihan, an economics professor at the University of Dhaka, said the workers' demands were understandable given high inflation, but cautioned that a substantial wage increase could raise production costs, squeeze exporters' profit margins and weaken Bangladesh's price competitiveness. He called for a phased wage adjustment, improved productivity and fairer pricing from international buyers.