Bangladesh garment workers cut food and healthcare as wages lag costs

Garment workers in Bangladesh say rising living costs are forcing families to cut food, healthcare and schooling. Protesters want the minimum monthly wage raised from 12,500 taka to 30,000 taka after unrest that temporarily closed hundreds of factories.

The wage board agreed on November 4 to implement a revised structure from December, with the first payments under it expected in January. The size of the increase has not been fixed.

The industry employs more than four million people and supplies more than 80% of Bangladesh's export earnings. Manufacturers say sharply higher wages would squeeze margins already strained by energy costs and weaken their cost advantage over rivals including India and Vietnam.