Bangladesh garment workers protest seeking higher minimum wage

Tens of thousands of garment workers making clothes for UK brands in Bangladesh have been holding protests seeking a minimum wage.

For weeks, these workers have been on the streets fighting for their basic rights, as the proteststurn increasingly violent over no response from the government.

They say that they have been scavenging and stealing food on the streets as the wage they are earning is unable to satiate their children’s hunger.

Around 4 million people in Bangladesh are employed in the garment sector. Despite being a major supplier, the South Asian country has one of the lowest minimum wages for garment workers in the world, which has remained stagnant at 8,000 taka ($72 approx.) since 2018.

Bangladeshi Ministry for Labour and Employment is proposing a new minimum wage of 12,500 taka ($113 approx.) a month.

Disagreement between govt and workers over wage

However, the workers' union says that this won’t be enough to cover their basic living costs, which has been aggravated by inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.

They demand 23,000 taka ($208) a month, and anything less than that, they say, would make their children starve to death.

“The leggings I make retail for more than my entire month’s salary,” a garment worker with young children who did not want to be named told The Guardian.

“To us, it is clear that there are huge profits being made on our backs. Even the 23,000 taka we are asking for wouldn’t be enough, but it would offer some kind of relief. Why should my children go hungry?”

The government says they are willing to re-negotiate after the proposal for 12,500 taka was rejected by the workers.

Govt working things out

Monnujan Sufian, Bangladesh’s state minister for labour and employment, told local newspapersthat the government was considering calls from garment workers for ration cards to help cover living costs.

The workers have, meanwhile, found support from major fashion brands which source clothes from Bangladesh, saying that they support workers’ calls for a higher minimum wage.

In a joint letter, brands including Next, Asos, New Look and Inditex, which owns Zara, said they recognised their role in “supporting wage developments”.

However, the labour rights groups argue that the brands have to take the initiative and pay more for their clothing orders for this to become a reality.

(With inputs from agencies)