Bangladesh forms wage board as garment workers protest
Demonstrations held in industrial cities as workers demand wage increase as cost of living rises.
Bangladesh has formed a new wage board to review the minimum wage for garment workers as it tries to quell a protest movement that has disrupted key industrial hubs.
Despite the announcement on Sunday, thousands of workers demanding higher wages continued protesting around the capital, Dhaka. Clashes were reported with police, who fired tear gas and sound grenades.
The garment sector is the backbone of Bangladesh’s export-driven economy, employing millions of workers and generating the bulk of the country’s foreign earnings.
“The issue of forming the wage board has been resolved. There will be no more problems now,” Ministry of Labour and Employment adviser M Sakhawat Hossain Chowdhury told reporters.