Garment workers in Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest clothing exporter after China, are demanding that their wages more than double – and their protests have brought a halt to production in factories supplying global brands including H&M, Zara and Walmart.
Tens of thousands of workers have marched through Dhaka and the key industrial towns of Gazipur, Ashulia and Narayanganj in recent days demanding higher pay. Protests turned violent in several hubs, with factories vandalised and roads blocked during clashes with police, forcing hundreds of plants to suspend operations.
On Wednesday, the statutory Minimum Wage Board agreed that a revised pay scale would take effect from December, but it has yet to recommend a specific figure as negotiations between factory owners and worker representatives continue. Workers want the monthly minimum wage to be raised to 30,000 taka (US$237) from 12,500 currently.