In spite of a government directive given in December 2023 for increasing minimum wages in the readymade garment (RMG) sector, nearly one third of factories have failed to implement a revised pay scale, according to a new study.

A state-run annual increment and wage review committee yesterday recommended that the government raise the minimum wage of garment workers by 9 percent.

Following the political changeover on August 5, the country’s main export-earnings sector, the garments industry, witnessed a large-scale and drawn-out spell of labour unrest in industrial belts such as Savar, Gazipur, Ashulia, Zirabo and Zirani.

The decision on whether to formulate another minimum wage for garment workers after making adjustments in line with inflation will be made by April next year.

Before the minimum wage was raised to Tk 12,500 in December, thousands of workers took to the streets to press home their demand for a minimum salary between Tk 23,000 and Tk 25,000.

For a decade, the nimble fingers of Bangladeshi garment worker Naim Pramanik sewed shirts and trousers for top Western brands, to be worn by the wealthy across the world.

Any trade sanction on Bangladesh from the West would significantly impact the economy, said the noted economist Wahiduddin Mahmud yesterday.

The government and business leaders have played down the significance of the diplomatic note from the Bangladesh embassy in Washington DC to the commerce ministry about possible measures like trade penalties and visa restrictions over labour issues.

Bangladesh embassy in Washington sends letter to commerce ministry

Advocacy efforts in Bangladesh have been part of the national dialogue centring wages for several decades.

The salary structure will now have four grades in place of five

It is shocking that the wage board sees it fit to approve such a meagre amount for minimum wage for RMG workers, which is a quarter of what they need just to stay above the poverty line.

It sent another letter to the international buyers on Nov 17

The manner in which RMG unrest is being handled defies logic

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has said the take-home salary of a worker will be higher than the new minimum wage if other allowances are considered, a claim that was refuted by two union leaders and an economist.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has urged US clothing retailers and brands to pay higher prices from December 1 as owners are set to pay a higher wage to workers..BGMEA President Faruque Hassan made the request in a letter to Stephen Lamar, president and

The government today published the gazette on the recently declared minimum wage for garment workers, setting the monthly pay at Tk 12,500 and reducing the number of grades to five from seven.

A garment worker was shot dead and 30 people were injured in Gazipur as law enforcers opened fire on workers protesting for a minimum monthly wage of Tk 23,000, a day after it was fixed at Tk 12,500.

Death of RMG worker amid rejection of newly set wage raises alarm

A female garment worker was killed in a clash between police and workers demonstrating for a minimum wage of Tk 23,000 in Gazipur's Konabari area today