Bangladesh forms wage board as garment protests shut 30 factories
Workers are pressing for a 30,000 taka minimum wage, while production disruptions threaten exports from an industry that employs 4 million.
The Bangladesh government formed a six-member wage board to review pay for garment workers as thousands of laborers continued protesting in Dhaka and other industrial areas on Sunday, Nov. 1. The workers are demanding a monthly minimum wage of 30,000 taka, more than double the current 12,500 taka, saying food, housing, transport and health costs keep rising. The protests shut about 25-30 factories and briefly blocked roads in Dhaka and a major highway in Gazipur. Police dispersed the crowds with tear gas and water cannon. The government warned that a prolonged disruption could delay export shipments and payments from international buyers. Bangladesh's garment industry employs about 4 million people and accounts for more than 80 percent of the country's export earnings.