Bangladesh garment sector moves to form wage board amid Tk30,000 minimum pay protests

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Bangladesh garment wage protests

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Bangladesh's Department of Labour will send letters on 15 October to garment factory owners and workers to nominate representatives for a new minimum wage board.
Protests erupted in Uttara on 14 October as garment workers demanded a Tk30,000 minimum wage, intensifying pressure with December's wage review deadline approaching.
The current minimum wage for garment workers is Tk12,500, while recent public sector pay increases above Tk33,000 fuel calls for parity across sectors.

Nomination process begins for new wage board

As reported by The Business Standard, the Department of Labour is scheduled to send letters on 15 October to garment factory owners and workers seeking nominations for representatives to a new minimum wage board. The decision is taken at a 14 October meeting of senior officials at the Ministry of Labour and Employment, according to ministry sources.

Abdur Rahman Tarafder, secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, says the letters ask both sides to submit nominees as soon as possible so the board can be formed quickly once the lists are received. He says the government acts after workers take to the streets, but does not specify whether the board can be constituted by next week.

The wage board has six members, including four permanent members and two temporary members. The temporary members represent the sector under review and play a central role in wage negotiations.

Worker pressure builds before December review point

Workers from several garment factories in Uttara protest on 14 October, demanding a monthly minimum wage of Tk30,000 and causing major traffic disruption in the area. Labour leaders welcome the government's move, while saying the process should have started earlier given the approaching deadline for a wage review.

Towhidur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Labour Unity Council, says it is a positive step but notes that December is near and the board is still not in place. Under Bangladesh's Labour Act, a wage board is meant to be formed every five years, although an amendment passed last year provides for wage reviews every three years.

Three years since the last garment wage increase will have passed by December this year, adding urgency to the board's formation. The current minimum monthly wage for garment workers is Tk12,500, while the government announces a new pay scale for public employees last month that lifts total monthly pay to more than Tk33,000 once fully implemented, strengthening calls for higher wages across other sectors as well.

In our earlier article on foreign commercial banks in Bangladesh, we noted that profitability weakened in the first half of 2026 as softer trade flows and fewer income opportunities weighed on earnings. At the same time, the sector still showed strong capital buffers and liquidity, and played a meaningful role in processing export receipts and import payments despite a modest rise in non-performing loans.

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