Bangladesh sets up wage panel as garment worker unrest disrupts factories

The government of Bangladesh has established a six-member panel to evaluate the pay structure for garment sector employees, as widespread labor demonstrations continue to interrupt factory production and traffic near the capital.

Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury announced the creation of the wage body following talks involving labor delegates and factory owners. Chowdhury called on employees to end their demonstrations and return to factory floors, cautioning that continued production delays could stall export deliveries and interrupt vital payments from overseas fashion brands.

Despite the move to address pay concerns, unrest persisted across multiple industrial zones. In Dhaka, law enforcement deployed tear gas and water cannons to break up crowds holding a sit-in at a major road junction, with demonstrators throwing bricks at responding officers. Outside the capital in Gazipur, hundreds of protesters blocked a critical transport corridor, bringing vehicle movement to a halt.

Gazipur Industrial Police Superintendent Mohammad Amjad Hossain reported that the disturbances led to the closure of roughly 25 to 30 manufacturing facilities in the area. Paramilitary personnel from Border Guard Bangladesh were brought in to reinforce security and restore calm across the industrial hub. The turbulence follows widespread unrest a day earlier in Ashulia, another key manufacturing district near Dhaka, where numerous facilities were similarly forced to halt work.

Factory staff are pushing for a minimum monthly salary of 30,000 taka, or roughly 245 US dollars. This proposed figure would represent more than double the current baseline of 12,500 taka. Workers maintain that sharp increases in essential expenditures, covering food, accommodation, public transit, and medical care, have severely weakened their living standards and made existing earnings unsustainable.

The labor dispute places significant strain on a sector central to the nation's economic stability. The ready-made apparel trade accounts for more than 80 percent of Bangladesh's export revenues, generates around 10 percent of gross domestic product, and provides employment for roughly four million people. The country ranks as the second-largest apparel exporter globally, surpassed only by China, supplying many top international retailers.

Factory operators argue that agreeing to such steep wage increases would be difficult under current business pressures. Manufacturers note they are already grappling with escalating overhead expenses, sporadic supplies of natural gas and electricity, and market instability stemming from broader geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.