"Bangladesh garment workers ‘frustrated’ by gov’t wage hike after protests", 8 November 2023

Authorities in Bangladesh have announced a new salary structure for protesting garment factory workers with a 56 percent increase in the monthly minimum wage to $113 from the previous $75, a decision rejected by some workers’ groups as too small and “extremely frustrating”.

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The decision came after weeks of the worst wage-related protests in a decade hit Bangladesh’s major industrial areas and a suburb of the capital, Dhaka.

The protests began after the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association offered to increase the monthly minimum wage by 25 percent to $90. The last increase in the minimum wage was announced in 2018.

Tens of thousands of workers, demanding a $208 monthly minimum wage, demonstrated in the streets. Four factories were torched and at least two workers were killed in the violence, as the workers blocked highways and fought with police.

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The protests pushed the government to form a panel of factory owners, union leaders and officials to consider the demand for higher pay.