Pay hike a damp squib as garment factories’ workers continue to protest in Bangladesh

Bangladeshi garment factory owners said on Thursday they had agreed to a proposed 77 percent rise in the minimum wage, but police used teargas and rubber bullets to break up new protests by stone-throwing workers calling for a bigger increase. Bangladesh’s official wage board had proposed the rise to $68 a month as the minimum wage, up from $38, after a string of fatal factory accidents this year thrust poor pay and conditions into the international spotlight. The factory owners agreed to the proposal at a meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday night after several days of violent protests by workers. ‘We have agreed to the new wages after the prime minister assured us she would look into our problems,’ said Mohammad Atiqul Islam, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association. He said the new wage, to be officially approved by the wage board, would be effective from next month. ‘In the greater interest of our garment sector, we agreed to it. But many small factories cannot afford the rise,’ Islam said. Workers demanding a $100 a month took to the streets, blocking major roads and attacking factories.