Explainer: Bangladesh garment workers protest
15 November 2023
Bangladesh is facing its worst labour unrest in a decade.
Thousands of garment factory workers have taken to the streets recently in protest of poor wages as inflation and cost of living creep ever upwards, shutting down hundreds of factories in the process.
Currently, the monthly minimum wage for garment factory workers is around 8300 taka ($NZD127) and unions are campaigning to raise it to 23,000 taka ($NZD353).
Last week, a government-appointed wage board announced a 50 percent wage increase for workers – taking a month’s minimum pay to 12,500 taka or $NZD192, which would start on December 1.
This was immediately rejected by unions and workers.
Large protests have resulted in at least four deaths over the past two weeks. Protests so far have been concentrated in Gazipur, an industrial city which is a hub for the garment and textile industry, as well as in the outskirts of Dhaka.
In an interview with the New York Times, union leader Prodip Ray said workers were protesting as “repeated promises of higher wages had not materialized”.
Bangladesh is well-known for its garment industry. It accounts for roughly 16 percent – or $NZD93billion - of the country’s GDP, with around four million workers across roughly 3500 factories. It’s the home of production for some major global brands including H&M, Adidas and Gap.
Despite being such an important industry for the country, garment factory workers have long faced poor wages and working conditions. A pay rise in 2023 would be the first time the minimum wage has lifted since 2018, despite a global cost of living crisis.
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The garment industry can be dangerous too. The most infamous example is the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013 when an eight-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed due to engineering issues. More than 1000 people were killed.
That’s far from the only garment industry disaster. According to the Dhaka Tribune, at least 2000 people have been killed in 26 garment factory fires over the past 20 years.
However, things have been slowly improving. The Rana Plaza disaster has been credited with helping improve conditions across the board in garment factories, as stricter regulations and closer oversight by safety inspectors were brought in.
Despite this, there are still risks and pay remains a major issue.
As of November 10, Bangladesh’s prime minister Sheikh Hasina offered a stern response to workers, telling them to work with the pay rise offered by the wage board or ‘to return to their village’.
- Asia Media Centre
