Protests in Bangladesh yield results: Minimum wage set at 113 dollars
The monthly minimum wage for textile workers in Bangladesh, who held demonstrations demanding a pay raise, has been increased from 75 dollars to 113 dollars.
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State Minister for Labour and Employment Monnujan Sufian announced the decision regarding the matter following a meeting of the minimum wage board.
Sufian announced that the monthly minimum wage for textile workers has been raised from 75 dollars to 113 dollars and that the new wage structure will come into effect on December 1.
However, the fact that the monthly minimum wage was not increased to the 208 dollars expected by the workers drew backlash.
"THE INCREASE WAS NEGLIGIBLE"
Kalpona Akter, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), described the increase in the minimum wage as "negligible" and stated that they were "disappointed."
Thousands of textile workers in the capital, Dhaka, had held demonstrations on October 31 demanding a pay raise.
The protests had begun after the BGMEA proposed that the monthly minimum wage be increased to 90 dollars instead of 208 dollars.
According to the BGMEA, Bangladesh is the world's second-largest garment producer after China, with around 3,500 factories employing approximately 4 million workers, most of whom are women.
Bangladesh earns approximately 55 billion dollars annually from the export of ready-to-wear clothing products, primarily to the US and European countries.