In brief
In a bid to quell growing unrest over low wages, Bangladesh announced a six‑member wage board to set a new minimum pay for garment workers. Despite the announcement, workers remain on strike, leading to clashes with police and factory closures that threaten the nation’s lucrative export business.
On Saturday, thousands of garment workers in Bangladesh staged protests in and around Dhaka demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka—more than double the current 12,500 taka—while the government announced the creation of a new wage board to review the sector’s pay.
According to Al Jazeera, the six‑member board will include government officials, factory owners, and workers’ representatives and is tasked with determining a new minimum wage in an effort to calm the ongoing unrest.
M Sakhawat Hossain Chowdhury, a Ministry of Labour and Employment adviser, told reporters,
M Sakhawat Hossain Chowdhury The issue of forming the wage board has been resolved. There will be no more problems now.
He added,
M Sakhawat Hossain Chowdhury The workers should return to work and work smoothly.
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.
Protests began the day before Sunday’s announcement and prompted about 30 garment factories on the outskirts of Dhaka to declare holidays, according to Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of the Ashulia Industrial Police. Police have reported clashes with workers in Ashulia that injured several people, including police officers.
The garment sector is the backbone of Bangladesh’s export‑driven economy, employing millions and contributing about 10 percent of gross domestic product. Workers cited rising costs of food, housing, transport and healthcare as reasons for their demands. Some manufacturers point to rising production costs, periodic gas and electricity shortages, and uncertainty in energy markets linked to tensions in the Middle East during the United States‑Israel war on Iran as key challenges.
With the government’s new wage board in place, factory owners are hoping for a swift decision that will bring stability to the industry and keep tight deadlines with international buyers. Yet the protests continue, and workers remain skeptical that a wage increase of the size they are calling for will come quickly enough to offset the costs they face.
Key questions remain: Will the wage board move swiftly enough to satisfy the workers’ demands? How will the adjustments affect the industry’s ability to meet global supply‑chain commitments? And will the government be able to keep the sector’s production intact, preventing further delays to export shipments and maintaining the flow of foreign revenue?
