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Wednesday | November 11, 2026 | Dhaka

Workers demand Tk32,000 minimum pay

 Staff Reporter
 Published: 12:06 AM, 10 November 2026

Balancing workers’ demands for higher wages with the garment industry’s ability to sustain production and remain competitive has emerged as a key challenge for the newly formed Minimum Wage Board, as negotiations over a fresh pay structure for the country’s largest export-earning sector gather pace.

Workers’ representatives have proposed raising the minimum monthly wage for garment workers to Tk32,000, more than double the existing rate of Tk12,500, while also seeking Tk48,000 for employees in the highest grade and Tk30,000 for apprentices.

The proposal was submitted at the second meeting of the Minimum Wage Board, held at its office in Segunbagicha in the capital on Monday. After the meeting, Babul Akhter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation and a workers’ representative on the board, disclosed the proposed wage structure.

Under the proposal, monthly wages would be Tk48,000 for Grade 1 workers, Tk43,000 for Grade 2, Tk38,000 for Grade 3 and Tk32,000 for Grade 4. A minimum of Tk30,000 has been proposed for newly recruited or apprentice workers.

The employers’ representatives, however, did not submit their counterproposal at the meeting, seeking seven working days to prepare it. The board allowed them four working days to submit their proposed wage structure.

Syed Azad Subhani, chairman of the Minimum Wage Board, told journalists after the meeting that proposals had been sought from both sides, but only the workers’ representatives had submitted theirs.

He said Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed of Dhaka University, the board’s independent member, had been assigned to examine different aspects of the wage issue. If necessary, he could consult relevant experts and invite one or more of them to participate in the next meeting.

The board has also decided to assess actual working conditions in garment factories before finalising its recommendations. Subhani said the sector employed around four million workers, with an estimated four million families dependent on their earnings.

To establish a clearer picture of the industry’s situation, board members will visit different factories this week, he added.

Before Monday’s meeting, several workers’ organisations submitted a memorandum to the board chairman demanding a substantial increase in wages. Five alliances representing 55 registered garment workers’ organisations jointly called for a minimum monthly wage of Tk32,000.

The government formed a six-member Minimum Wage Board on 1 November to determine a revised pay structure for garment workers. Its first meeting was held on 4 November, when the possibility of implementing the new wage structure from December was discussed.

If the proposed recommendations receive approval, workers are expected to start receiving salaries under the revised structure from January.

The current minimum monthly wage in the garment sector stands at Tk12,500. The previous wage revision was announced in November 2023, raising the minimum monthly pay from Tk8,000 to Tk12,500.

The latest wage negotiations come amid growing pressure from workers for better remuneration amid rising living costs, while garment manufacturers face the challenge of maintaining production, competitiveness and export growth in an increasingly demanding global market.