Key facts
- Bangladesh's wage board agreed on November 4 to a revised wage structure from December, with first pay under the new scale in January.
- The board has not determined the size of the increase, the report said.
- Workers demanded the minimum monthly wage rise to 30,000 taka ($242.82) from 12,500 taka.
- Protests last week turned violent, shut hundreds of factories and drew tear gas and sound grenades from police, the report said.
- Garment manufacturing generates more than 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings and employs more than 4 million people, per the report.
- Manufacturers said a steep increase would erode Bangladesh's cost advantage over India and Vietnam and squeeze margins.
Bangladesh's wage board agreed on November 4 to put a revised wage structure for garment workers in place from December, with the first pay under the new scale due in January, but has not yet set the size of the increase, Reuters reported on November 11. The decision follows protests in which thousands of garment workers demanded the minimum monthly wage be raised to 30,000 taka ($242.82) from 12,500 taka. Some of the unrest was violent, hundreds of factories shut and police used tear gas and sound grenades on demonstrators, the report said.
Workers say pay has not kept pace with prices. Shilpi Khatun, 27, a worker in Gazipur who supports her unemployed husband, her parents and her in-laws, earns 13,500 taka ($108) a month, up from 9,000 taka when she started five years ago, and about 16,000 taka with overtime. She said she had not seen a doctor in three years. Roksana Parveen, a 29-year-old sewing operator in Ashulia, said one of her daughters dropped out of school to cut costs.
The report said Bangladesh has faced a prolonged cost-of-living squeeze since 2022, with inflation averaging around 9%. Garment manufacturing generates more than 80% of the country's export earnings and employs more than 4 million people, according to the report, making Bangladesh the world's second-largest apparel exporter after China and a base for brands including H&M, Zara, Gap, Primark and Walmart.
Manufacturers told Reuters a steep wage increase would erode Bangladesh's cost advantage over rivals such as India and Vietnam and squeeze margins already under pressure from higher energy costs. They said workers also receive a 9% annual increment and two festival bonuses on top of basic pay, leaving limited room for substantial increases.