Bangladesh forms wage board as garment workers protest

Demonstrations held in industrial cities as workers demand wage increase as cost of living rises.

Workers operate sewing machines at the Yarn Dyeing Ltd garment factory in Savar on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, on September 17, 2026 [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

Bangladesh has formed a new wage board to review the minimum wage for garment workers as it tries to quell a protest movement that has disrupted key industrial hubs.

Despite the announcement on Sunday, thousands of workers demanding higher wages continued protesting around the capital, Dhaka. Clashes were reported with police, who fired tear gas and sound grenades.

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The garment sector is the backbone of Bangladesh’s export-driven economy , employing millions of workers and generating the bulk of the country’s foreign earnings.

Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka ($242), more than double the current wage of 12,500 taka ($101). They said the rising costs of food, housing, transport and healthcare have sharply eroded their purchasing power.

The six-member board is to include representatives of the government, workers and factory owners and is tasked with determining a new minimum wage.

“The issue of forming the wage board has been resolved. There will be no more problems now,” Ministry of Labour and Employment adviser M Sakhawat Hossain Chowdhury told reporters.

“The workers should return to work and work smoothly,” he added.

Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury warned that prolonged factory closures and production disruptions could delay export shipments and payments from international buyers, creating further difficulties for manufacturers and workers alike.

The protests began on Saturday and prompted about 30 garment factories on the outskirts of Dhaka to declare holidays, according to Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of the Ashulia Industrial Police.

Clashes between workers and police in Ashulia injured several people, including police officers, police said.

Bangladesh’s garment industry is the world’s largest after China’s, contributing about 10 percent of gross domestic product.

Manufacturers, however, said the sector is facing mounting challenges, including rising production costs, periodic gas and electricity shortages, and uncertainty in energy markets linked to tensions in the Middle East during the United States-Israel war on Iran.

随着生活成本上涨，工业城市爆发示威游行，工人们要求提高工资。

2026年9月17日，在孟加拉国达卡郊区萨瓦尔的Yarn Dyeing Ltd服装厂，工人们正在操作缝纫机。[Mohammad Ponir Hossain/路透社]

孟加拉国成立了一个新的工资委员会，审查服装工人的最低工资，以平息一场扰乱主要工业中心的抗议运动。

尽管周日政府宣布了提高工资的措施，但数千名要求提高工资的工人仍在首都达卡周边地区继续抗议。据报道，抗议者与警方发生冲突，警方使用了催泪瓦斯和声波弹。

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问题 3（共 3 题）：全球码头工人罢工能为加沙带来什么？

服装业是孟加拉国出口导向型经济的支柱产业，雇佣了数百万工人，并创造了该国大部分外汇收入。

工人们要求每月最低工资达到3万塔卡（约合242美元），是目前1.25万塔卡（约合101美元）的两倍多。他们表示，食品、住房、交通和医疗成本的不断上涨严重削弱了他们的购买力。

该六人委员会将包括政府代表、工人代表和工厂主代表，其任务是确定新的最低工资标准。

“组建工资委员会的问题已经解决，现在不会再有任何问题了。”劳动和就业部顾问M·萨卡瓦特·侯赛因·乔杜里告诉记者。

“工人们应该复工，工作顺利进行，”他补充道。

劳工和就业部长阿里富尔·哈克·乔杜里警告说，工厂长期关闭和生产中断可能会延迟出口货物的运输和国际买家的付款，从而给制造商和工人带来更多困难。

据阿舒利亚工业警察局局长穆罕默德·莫米努尔·伊斯兰·布伊扬称，抗议活动始于周六，导致达卡郊区约 30 家服装厂宣布停工。

警方称，阿舒利亚工人与警察发生冲突，造成多人受伤，其中包括几名警察。

孟加拉国的服装业规模仅次于中国，位居世界第二，约占国内生产总值的10%。

然而，制造商们表示，该行业正面临日益严峻的挑战，包括生产成本上升、天然气和电力周期性短缺，以及与美国和以色列在伊朗战争期间中东紧张局势相关的能源市场的不确定性。