Bangladesh to set up wage board following garment worker protests
Labour Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury announced the board to review pay after clashes and factory closures in Dhaka and Gazipur.
Bangladesh will establish a wage board on Sunday to review garment workers' pay following protests that shut factories and led to clashes with police. Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said the government would formally constitute the board after discussions with labour leaders and industry representatives.
The workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka, which is more than double the current 12,500 taka. Khairul Mamun, legal affairs secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre, said workers alleged no management representatives had spoken to them about their demands.
The unrest caused significant disruption, with reports stating at least 80 factories were shut in Dhaka and Gazipur. In Ashulia, a manufacturing hub near Dhaka, about 30 factories declared holidays, according to Ashulia Industrial Police superintendent Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan.
Clashes occurred in Ashulia and Mirpur, where protesters reportedly torched a police vehicle. In Gazipur, a warehouse storing waste fabric and a pickup van were also reportedly set on fire. Deputy commissioner of Mirpur division Hasan Mohammad Nasher Rikabdar said nineteen people have been detained in connection with the violence.
The wage board will be headed by Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman as chairman. Owners' representatives on the board include BGMEA director ABM Shamsuddin and Bangladesh Employers' Federation joint secretary-general Asif Ayub.
The garment industry employs about 4 million workers and generates more than 80 per cent of Bangladesh's export earnings. According to the BGMEA, garment exports reached USD 38.70 billion in the 2025-26 financial year.
