Bangladesh workers making global brands demand living wage

In Bangladesh, garment workers employed by global brands are demanding a substantial increase in their minimum monthly wage, citing the erosion of their purchasing power due to rising costs of living. Amena, a 27-year-old worker, earns 12,500 taka per month, struggling to afford even basic necessities, let alone save for emergencies.

Her monthly wage is equivalent to the retail price of yoga leggings or blue jeans in Europe or North America. The garment sector, Bangladesh's second-largest export earner, employs millions and generates the bulk of the country's export earnings. However, workers argue that the sector's profitability belies the workers' struggle to make ends meet, with their salary dropping when they are transferred from stitching to sampling positions.

With inflation at around eight percent and soaring energy prices, workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka, a 140 percent increase from the current minimum. Protests against the government and factory owners have been ongoing, defying calls to return to work. Workers, like Amena, pay a significant portion of their earnings towards rent and support for their families, leaving little for personal needs.

They express a desperate need for higher wages, describing their situation as akin to bonded labor, despite the lack of physical coercion. The workers' concerns are echoed by their counterparts, such as 18-year-old Sabbir, who, after paying rent, keeps just 1,500 taka as pocket money, with the rest sent to his mother. The rise in gas prices due to the Middle East conflict has added to their financial burdens, with workers living in constant fear of gas shortages.

Despite factory owners' promises of increased wages, workers remain skeptical, questioning how these owners can simultaneously complain about poor business and open new factories.