The IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) has called on the government to reconstitute the Minimum Wage Board for ready-made garment (RMG) workers by October 10, warning that further delay could leave millions of workers without a revised wage structure within the legally prescribed timeframe.
The labour alliance made the demand in a memorandum submitted to the labour and employment minister on Sunday, urging immediate action to bring workers’ wages in line with rising living costs and recent changes to labour legislation.
According to the IBC, the amended Bangladesh Labour Act 2026 has reduced the interval for reviewing minimum wages from five years to three years under Section 139(6). Since the previous RMG minimum wage was announced in November 2023, a new wage structure is due by November 2026.
The council also pointed to Section 139(2), which requires the Wage Board to submit its recommendations within six months of being constituted. It said the board should therefore have been formed by the first week of May to meet the November deadline.
The IBC expressed concern over the delay, saying RMG workers are facing increasing financial pressure amid rising prices of essential goods. It also referred to the recent increase in government employees’ salaries, with pay scales reportedly rising by 100 to 142 per cent and the salary of Grade 20 employees increasing from Tk 20,010 to Tk 48,400.
The labour alliance said the disparity between public-sector wage adjustments and garment workers’ earnings has added to economic pressure on workers who play a major role in Bangladesh’s export economy.
The IBC represents 19 affiliated trade unions, including 16 from the RMG sector, and claims to represent nearly 70% of organised garment workers in the country.
The council had earlier submitted a formal request on August 4 and held a press conference on September 19, demanding that the Wage Board be formed by September 30. Following the failure to meet that deadline, it has now set October 10 as its new deadline.
The IBC leaders warned that if the government does not reconstitute the Wage Board by October 10, its executive committee will meet that day to determine the organisation’s next course of action.
