Factory owners, trade union leaders and economists have called for a review of garment workers’ wages in Bangladesh, citing rising living costs and declining purchasing power.
The call came at a seminar organised by the Garment Workers’ Trade Union Centre (GWTUC) at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka on 14 October.
According to a statement presented by the GWTUC, the minimum monthly wage for garment workers was raised from Tk 8,000 to Tk 12,500 in 2023, effective from 1 December that year. However, the increase fell short of workers’ demands, while the minimum wage has remained unchanged since then.
The statement estimated that goods and services costing Tk 8,000 in 2018 would now require Tk 14,500–15,000, leaving workers struggling to cover essential expenses such as food, housing, healthcare, education and transport.
Mujahidul Islam Selim, former president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, said workers’ interests and the garment industry’s competitiveness were not contradictory. Fair wages, improved working conditions, skills development and investment in technology could strengthen the sector in the long run, he said.
Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said employers supported forming a wage board, while the timing of its formation remained a government decision. He added that employers would need time to implement a revised wage structure.
Khondaker Golam Moazzem, president of Knowledge Hub Institute Trust, said workers had already taken to the streets demanding higher wages. He urged workers to remain united, choose their representatives to the wage board and ensure wages reflect the industry’s productivity.
The participants stressed that future wage decisions should consider inflation, actual living costs, productivity and the fair distribution of value generated by the garment industry.
