Union leaders in Bangladesh want a recent hike in garment workers’ basic pay to be revised from 32 per cent to 70 per cent. They say, this will raise other fringe benefits proportionately to make the overall wage sufficient for leading a decent life.

The labor law stipulates basic pay doubles in every wage revision but this does not always happen. The country’s garment industry has some 4.4 million workers. Over 80 per cent of these garment workers are operators. Minimum wages are fixed keeping in mind the number of family members, general wage of the country, living costs, social security benefits, living standards of other social groups, productivity and prices of products.

Unions say garment buyers should keep workers in mind while settling prices and make sure that factory owners deliver this additional amount to workers. Though basic pay is low, and though there is scope for bargaining to increase salaries, union leaders in the industry lack unity.

The concept of a national minimum wage has yet to be established in Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s apparel industry fall behind other centers not only in terms of wages but also of worker well-being. A wage hike disturbs factory owners too. In the past few years, a number of garment manufacturers had to shut their factories as they could not cover their costs.