Garment workers' agitation intensifies in Bangladesh, government forms wage board

According to a BBC Hindi report, the protest by around 10 lakh workers associated with the garment industry in Bangladesh escalated to such an extent that work remained stalled in 529 factories in the country. According to BBC News Bangla, about 9 lakh 87 thousand workers in the country did not work in garment factories on Sunday. A large number of garment workers took to the streets on Sunday with their demands, although their exact number is not known. Industry owners fear that if the situation does not improve, production could be affected on Monday as well. These protests are taking place in several industrial areas of the capital, Dhaka.

Incidents of vandalism, road blockades, and clashes with the police were also reported during the protests on Sunday. The police also fired tear gas shells. Since the student movement in 2024, the removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from power, the formation of an interim government, and then the subsequent general elections leading to Tarique Rahman's government coming to power, Bangladesh has seen a series of violent protests and political upheavals. In the latest protest, garment factory workers are demanding an increase in their minimum monthly wage to 30 thousand Taka (approximately 21 thousand rupees). Their current wage is 12,500 Taka (approximately 8,800 rupees). That is, they are demanding to double it.

Workers say that the rising costs of food, house rent, transportation, and health services have severely impacted their purchasing power. Considering their demands, the country's Minister of Labour and Employment, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, formed a six-member wage board on Sunday and appealed to the workers not to protest. Some garment industry workers told BBC Bangla that even though the government has formed a wage board, their agitation will continue. They say that they will continue their protest until the minimum wage is announced.

According to BBC News Bangla, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman held an emergency meeting on the violence that occurred during the garment industry workers' protests over the demand for a minimum wage. Ministers and advisors participated in this meeting held at the secretariat on Sunday night. In the meeting, law and order agencies were directed to ensure that production continues in ready-made garment factories and to ensure the safety of people's lives and property. Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed and Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury said that a decision has been taken in the meeting to deal strictly with the violence.

The Home Minister said that during the agitation, there were attacks on the police, vehicles were vandalized, and there were incidents of arson in factories. He mentioned that a jute warehouse in Kaliakair was also set on fire. The Home Minister claimed that some masked people are infiltrating the agitation and trying to serve their own interests. He also alleged that attempts are being made to affect the country's export trade and garment industry production through incitement from across the border. According to him, the purpose is to create instability in the country.

After the meeting, Labour Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury told BBC News Bangla that it is clear that people associated with Awami fascism have carried out these activities keeping December in mind. He said that the Prime Minister has directed all concerned parties to remain vigilant so that production in the garment industry is not affected and instability cannot be created in the country. However, there is no known reaction from the Awami League on these allegations. It is noteworthy that terrible political violence was witnessed in Bangladesh in December 2025 after the murder of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi. Also, there is a possibility of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who is in exile in India, returning to Bangladesh this December.

BBC News Bangla, citing local reports, stated that these protests suddenly started being reported in Bangladesh from October 31, which are mainly related to ready-made garment factories. Ready-made garment workers suddenly took to the streets in the country's important industrial areas of Savar, Ashulia, Mirpur, and Gazipur. They are agitating with several demands, including fixing a minimum wage of 30 thousand Taka. During this, clashes between protesters and police have been recorded. Tear gas shells were fired by the police, and batons were used. There were also incidents of police vehicles being set on fire.

Due to these protests, thirty factories initially announced the closure of their operations. On Sunday, the number of affected factories increased rapidly to 500, where the administration itself declared a one-day holiday. Questions are also being raised in the Bangladeshi national media regarding the suddenly increased dissatisfaction. According to BBC News Bangla, these reports state that people associated with this sector believe that there are not just immediate demands behind the current sudden unrest. According to them, the widening gap between wages and rising market prices and attempts at incitement by various groups could also be the reason.

The report raises the question of why this dissatisfaction among workers has suddenly increased. Is it just a demand for a wage hike, or is there some other motive at work behind it? Citing the Dhaka-published Bangla newspaper Bonik Barta, BBC News Bangla reported that law and order agencies say that leaders and activists of the banned Awami League and its affiliated organizations are involved in the violent labor protests in Dhaka and Gazipur. According to the agencies, Sajmul Islam, the organizing secretary of the Jagannath University unit of the banned Chhatra League, led a procession in Kaliakair, Gazipur. A picture related to this has also been circulated on social media.

On the other hand, the ready-made garment industry owners' associations, BGMEA and BKMEA, do not consider the protests, clashes, and violence occurring during this agitation to be entirely normal. Leaders of both these organizations held a meeting on this issue with various factory owners on Sunday. BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem believes that the main reason for the sudden unrest in the ready-made garment industry is not the wage issue. According to him, there could be a conspiracy against the government behind it. He told BBC Bangla that real workers are not involved in this agitation.

If real workers were in it, it would have ended on the very first day. There is some other motive behind it. The government should find out that motive. He claimed that this agitation has been going on for the last few days. According to him, outsiders are attacking various factories there. Garment industry owners do not consider the demand for a 30 thousand Taka minimum wage to be fair. The BKMEA President told BBC Bangla that wages were increased in three phases between 2013 and 2023. He said that after this, if the minimum wage is increased to 30 thousand Taka, many factories will close down.

According to him, many employers will not be able to pay such high wages. BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem told BBC Bangla that workers are demanding a minimum wage of 30 thousand Taka. He said that the government has formed a board for this. We want this board to consider the views of all parties and the circumstances and fix a wage that it deems appropriate.