Key facts
- Workers are demanding a monthly minimum wage of 30,000 taka ($243), up from 12,500 taka.
- The six-member wage board includes representatives of workers and factory owners and was expected to begin formal discussions on the wage structure.
- Police used tear gas and sound grenades as demonstrators blocked roads and highways in Savar and Gazipur.
- H&M told Reuters some factories had closed temporarily but it had not experienced major supply-chain disruptions.
- The garment sector employs about 4 million workers and generates more than 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings.
- Economist Selim Raihan said Bangladesh could absorb a significant wage increase if factories improved productivity.
Bangladesh's newly formed wage board was set to hold its first meeting on garment sector wages on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, as protests for higher pay entered their fifth day, Reuters reported.
The government and garment manufacturers face pressure to raise the monthly minimum wage to 30,000 taka ($243) from 12,500 taka as workers struggle with rising living costs. The six-member board, which includes representatives of workers and factory owners, was expected to begin formal discussions on reviewing the industry's wage structure.
On Wednesday, clashes broke out between workers and police in Savar and Gazipur, two major garment hubs on the outskirts of Dhaka. Demonstrators blocked roads and highways, and police used tear gas and sound grenades. Several factories suspended operations over concerns of further unrest, and hundreds of factories have suspended operations during the protests, raising concerns about shipment delays in Bangladesh, the world's second-largest garment exporter after China.
The sector employs about 4 million workers, generates more than 80% of export earnings and supplies brands including H&M, Inditex's Zara and Walmart. H&M told Reuters some factories had closed temporarily, though it had not experienced major supply-chain disruptions. International buyers are watching as factories enter a key production period for spring and summer orders.
"Every month is a struggle," said Bithi Begum, a garment worker. "After working hard all day, the money we earn is hardly enough to cover even our basic needs."
Manufacturers said the industry was already under pressure from rising costs, stronger regional competition, energy market uncertainty linked to conflict in the Middle East and weaker demand in key export markets.
Selim Raihan, an economics professor at the University of Dhaka, said Bangladesh could absorb a significant wage increase without necessarily losing its competitive advantage if factories improved productivity. He said any wage revision should reflect inflation, living costs and factories' ability to pay, and that international buyers should support improved labor standards through fairer purchasing practices and prices. Raihan said prolonged labor unrest could pose a greater threat to the industry than higher wages because it undermines delivery reliability and buyer confidence.
"Treating cheap labour as the industry's permanent competitive strategy would be a mistake," he said. "Bangladesh needs to move increasingly toward productivity, reliability, upgrading and higher-value products."