"Garment workers protest for basic rations", 26 June 2024

Garment workers in Bangladesh are staging protests in industrial areas calling for ration cards because they say their wages are not sufficient to pay for food and other basic needs.

The minimum wage for the country's garment workers increased by 56% last November to BDT 12,500 ($106) a month after violent protests left four workers dead.

However, unions claimed the rise...was insufficient to meet workers' basic needs and had been demanding an increase to BDT 23,000 ($195).

The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) has now announced protests in industrial areas across Bangladesh until 30th June to call for the national budget to include rations for garment workers.

NGWF president Mahbubur Rahman Ismail told a news conference that a "daily necessities ration" was needed to lessen the financial burden on Bangladesh's garment workers.

Protests are expected to focus on industrial areas with a high concentration of garment factories, such as Ashulia, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Savar in Dhaka, as well as Chittagong.

Increased security is expected in the affected areas, according to local newspapers, with fears that the police response could include water cannons, baton charges and tear gas.

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