Workers who make clothes for top brands reject a proposal: $113 per month

Days after violent protests over wages as low as $80 a month, officials in Bangladesh said Wednesday they would increase wages for garment workers by about 50 percent, a concession that appeared to fall short of the thousands of workers who produce clothes for brands like H&M and Zara .

At least two garment factory workers were killed and several police officers were injured in the capital Dhaka last weekend as protesters stepped up their long-standing demands for higher wages. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters after some broke through the gates of factories and vandalized them, leading to temporary closures for ready-made clothing makers that reach more than 150 countries.

The garment industry accounts for more than 80 percent of Bangladesh’s annual exports (about $55 billion) and is seen as the main driver of Bangladesh’s economic growth in recent decades. More than 50 percent of workers in the sector are women, in a region with abysmal participation of women in the formal workforce. Even during the Covid lockdowns, the government took steps to ensure factories remained open.

Union leaders said on Wednesday they would continue their protests after the government’s announced minimum wage increase fell far short of their demands for a more than 150 percent increase for entry-level workers. They are calling for an increase to about $200 per month to cover rising living costs.

Bangladesh’s wage council on Tuesday announced a 56 percent increase in the minimum wage, to about $113 per month. Officials also said four other pay categories would increase by about 50 percent. Even with a raise, the highest-paid group of workers would receive a salary of just $135 per month.

Prodip Ray, leader of the Revolutionary Garment Workers Solidarity union, said factory workers had taken to the streets after repeated promises of higher wages had failed to materialize.

“We believe that the proposed salary fails to provide employees with the tools to live healthy lives,” Mr. Ray said.

Mr Ray, whose union is one of dozens taking part in the protests, said they were increasingly concerned that protesting workers would face repercussions from the government and factory owners.

As the country’s longtime leader, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, contests elections scheduled for early next year, the story of the economic success she hoped to campaign for has unraveled, partly due to external factors such as rising fuel and food costs as consequence of the crisis. war in Ukraine.

At a rally last week, Ms Hasina appeared to blame the minimum wage protests on the opposition Bangladesh National Party, which has faced a widespread crackdown from her government, with a large number of supporters and leaders in jail. She also warned protesters against destroying factories.

“Garment workers should remember that if they damage factories, they may have to return to their villages and live without work,” Ms Hasina told the gathering in Dhaka. “We know who instigated these protests and vandalism, and we know which BNP individuals are involved.”

Low wages are a problem for the garment industry in Bangladesh.

Sohel Islam, 26, a garment worker, said his salary was about $100 a month, even with the few hours of overtime he could manage.

He said he became a garment worker after his electrical shop had to close during the pandemic. Even though his family of three, including a two-year-old son, have reduced their protein consumption to just once every two weeks, they still rely on the help of a brother who works in Saudi Arabia.

“I’m not sure the garment industry can offer me a better life if my salary remains the same,” he said.

Mujib Mashal contributed reporting from Mumbai.