Wage unrest grips Bangladesh garment sector; dozens of factories shut

Wage unrest has gripped Bangladesh's garment sector, leading to the disruption of factory operations and clashes between workers and police. The garment workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka, which is more than double the current minimum of 12,500 taka. This demand is driven by the increased expenses on food, housing, transport, and healthcare, which have significantly reduced their purchasing power.

The government has responded by setting up a wage board to review the salaries in the industry. The unrest has raised concerns over the ready-made garment sector, which employs around four million people and contributes over 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings. The sector, the world's second-largest garment exporter after China, accounts for around 10% of Bangladesh's GDP and supplies clothing to several leading international and Western brands.

Brief written by urgent.news from Times of India's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.