Bangladesh Wage Board to Raise $100 Garment Minimum Wage After 140% Pay Protests
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 5
Bangladesh Wage Board to Raise $100 Garment Minimum Wage After 140% Pay Protests
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 5
Summary
Bangladesh’s newly formed wage board said it will raise garment workers’ minimum wage by year-end, ending several days of unrest that shut down hundreds of factories.
The move followed protests over the industry’s roughly $100 monthly minimum salary, which workers say no longer covers basic living costs as prices for rent, electricity and other essentials rise.
Workers had demanded more than $242 a month — about a 140% increase — while factory owners argued that level was not feasible.
The dispute threatened production for major global fashion brands in Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest clothing exporter after China and a pillar of the country’s economy.