Garment workers’ wages need review as living costs rise

Factory owners, union leaders and economists say

Factory owners, trade union leaders and economists yesterday called for a review of garment workers’ wages to reflect the rising cost of living.

They made the call at a seminar organised by the Garment Workers’ Trade Union Center (GWTUC) at the Jatiya Press Club in Dhaka.

In a statement presented at the seminar, the GWTUC said the latest minimum wage for garment workers was fixed in 2023 and took effect on December 1 that year.

The minimum monthly wage was raised from Tk 8,000 to Tk 12,500, but the increase was only half of what workers had demanded, the statement said. Since then, the cost of living has continued to rise, while the minimum wage has remained unchanged.

The statement estimated that goods and services that cost Tk 8,000 in 2018 would now require Tk 14,500 to Tk 15,000 to buy.

Despite nominal wage increases, workers’ purchasing power has therefore declined, it said.

Workers’ incomes are insufficient to cover essential expenses such as food, rent, healthcare, education and transport, according to the statement. Many are forced to work excessive overtime but still struggle to maintain a basic standard of living for their families.

It said wage determination should take into account the actual cost of living, inflation, productivity and the equitable distribution of wealth generated by the industry.

Mujahidul Islam Selim, former president of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, said workers’ interests and the garment industry’s interests were not contradictory.

Fair wages, better working conditions, skills development and investment in technology could strengthen the industry’s long-term competitiveness, he said.

Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said employers supported the formation of a wage board, but the timing of its formation was for the government to decide.

He said the BGMEA’s current leadership would not interfere in the selection of workers’ representatives to the board.

Employers would also need time to implement a new wage structure, he added.

Khondaker Golam Moazzem, president of Knowledge Hub Institute Trust, said garment workers had already taken to the streets demanding higher wages.

Although the minimum monthly wage for the lowest grade is Tk 12,500, workers in a lower grade are paid Tk 9,875, he said.

Moazzem urged workers to remain united, select their own representatives to the wage board and announce their choices publicly.

He also called for garment workers’ wages to reflect the industry’s productivity.

GWTUC President Montu Ghosh chaired the seminar.