Why Increasing Garment Workers' Wages is Essential

The contribution of the garment industry to Bangladesh's economy is undeniable. When this sector began its journey in the late seventies, no one could have imagined that within a few decades, it would become one of the leading apparel-exporting nations in the world. Cheap labor, favorable government policies, and demand from international buyers enabled this sector to expand rapidly.

Currently, about 4 million workers are employed in this sector, the majority of whom are women. The contribution of this industry to women's empowerment and poverty alleviation is significant.

There are several key reasons behind the unprecedented growth of Bangladesh's garment industry. The primary reason is the easy availability of workers in Bangladeshi garment factories and their comparatively low wages. The wages of Bangladeshi garment workers are much lower compared to other countries in the world. Under the currently effective government wage structure, the minimum monthly gross wage for garment workers is 12,500 BDT (approximately 101 USD). In Pakistan and Indonesia, the average monthly income of workers in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) ranges from about 517 to 576 USD. In Turkey, the minimum wage for unskilled garment workers is equivalent to about 50,000 BDT, and for skilled workers, it is about 72,000 BDT.

This sector has flourished through the sweat and toil of Bangladesh's garment workers, yet they remain the most neglected. Most garment industry owners have become immensely wealthy by doing business in this sector. Garment owners make up the largest share of the country's rich list, and workers have contributed the most to making these owners wealthy.

Many owners have underpaid workers, deprived them in various ways, and laundered huge sums of money abroad. They have become homeowners not only at home but also abroad. While their lives are filled with luxury, many of the workers who transformed the owners' lives through hard labor cannot even afford two square meals a day. Working from dawn till dusk, they live inhuman lives. Their children, growing up in the unhealthy environments of slums, do not get even the minimum opportunity for education. Most garment factories in the country lack a healthy working environment, causing workers to fall ill. In their daily struggle for survival, workers constantly face an uncertain future.

Therefore, increasing workers' wages is the demand of the hour. There may be procedural flaws in the workers' movement for wage hikes. The arson and vandalism carried out by workers to press their demands were improper; vandalizing the very factories where they work is never desirable. They had peaceful avenues to realize their demands. However, even if the method of their protest was wrong, their demand is logical. The government, too, has acknowledged the validity of their demand by forming a wage board. On November 1, the government formed a six-member Minimum Wage Board to review the wages of readymade garment workers. District and Sessions Judge Syed Azad Subhani is serving as the chairman of the board. Besides representatives of workers and owners, the board also includes a neutral member.

The first meeting of the Minimum Wage Board was held on November 4. At the meeting, representatives of both workers and owners were instructed to prepare their respective proposed wage structures and submit them at the next meeting. At the second meeting on November 9, the workers' representatives proposed a minimum wage of 32,000 BDT. Meanwhile, the owners' side was given four days and stated they would submit their proposal on November 15. We hope a final decision regarding the wage hike will be reached at the wage board meeting on November 16. The ongoing unrest in the garment sector must be resolved quickly; otherwise, an already struggling economy will fall into an even deeper crisis, closing off avenues for recovery.

In response to the workers' minimum wage proposal of 32,000 BDT, the owners' representatives will submit their wage proposal to the Minimum Wage Board next Monday. Meanwhile, Mahmud Hasan Khan, president of the owners' association (BGMEA), has called an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) with members at its Uttara office on Saturday. In this meeting, the owners may decide to shut down factories where workers are not participating in production under Section 13(1) ("no work, no pay") and refrain from participating in wage board discussions until the situation improves. This could create new complications regarding the workers' wage hike. Ongoing unrest will continue, and violence may escalate, causing massive losses to the country's largest export sector. Therefore, owners must act responsibly in their own self-interest.

The minimum wage of 12,500 BDT was set in December 2023. Since then, war, inflation, and gas crises have driven up the cost of living significantly. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), inflation in September 2026 stood at 8.34 percent. In August, the wage growth rate was 8.05 percent, while inflation was 8.26 percent. Thus, for nearly four and a half consecutive years since February 2022, inflation has outpaced wage growth. This means the real income of working-class people has declined every single month for four and a half years. Expenses have risen by 16.7 percent, while wages have increased by 6.7 percent. For every 1 taka increase in wages, expenses have risen by 3 taka. Where will this extra money come from?

According to 2025 estimates by the Global Living Wage Coalition, the living wage for a worker in a four-person family in Dhaka (with an average of 1.58 earners) is 30,459 BDT per month. The workers' demand of around 30,000 BDT aligns almost identically with international research estimates.

According to the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Minimum Wage Fixing Convention 131 (1970), the needs of workers and their families, along with the cost of living, must be taken into consideration when setting the minimum wage. Automatic adjustment of wages to the cost of living is standard practice in many countries.

The "Efficiency Wage Theory" by economists George Akerlof, Carl Shapiro, and Joseph Stiglitz states that when workers receive good wages, their productivity increases, turnover drops, and training costs are saved. Economists David Card and Alan Krueger demonstrated in New Jersey, USA, that raising the minimum wage did not reduce employment; rather, factory output increased.

Adam Smith, the father of market economics, wrote in The Wealth of Nations that a man must always live by his work, and his wages must at least be sufficient to maintain him. They must even upon most occasions be somewhat more; otherwise, it would be impossible for him to bring up a family. Even the greatest proponent of the free market advised upholding the moral foundation of wages.

International buyer brands have kept apparel prices suppressed for years. Owners and the government need to take joint initiatives to persuade buyers to ring-fence and protect workers' wage costs separately within the purchase price. The owners must also contribute a fair share of their profits toward wages. And the state must arrange to cover part of the deficit through rationing, subsidized essential commodities, housing, and transportation support.

The arguments put forward by owners against a wage hike include market uncertainty, buyers' reluctance to raise prices, intense competition from Vietnam and Cambodia, and the risk that a sudden doubling of wages could force small factories to close, leaving workers unemployed and worse off. However, this cannot be the logic of a free-market economy. Economic principles state that higher wages boost worker productivity. Workers become more motivated and skilled; free from financial anxiety, they focus better on their work. Ultimately, this benefits the owners. Therefore, I hope the owners will accept the workers' demand for a wage hike in their own self-interest. Workers have given a great deal to the owners; it is because of the workers that the owners have become wealthy. In the garment industry, the workers are the owners' "goose that lays the golden eggs." Do not kill this goose—otherwise, the owners themselves will suffer the greatest loss.

Audite Karim: Writer and Playwright

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