Latest Information

This is the second article in the series of ‘viewpoints’ being issued by Impactt as part of the launch of our Asia Pacific Network. This viewpoint comes from Selima Akhtar, our associate in Bangladesh, and focuses on how severe inflation and poor wages have triggered violent unrest in the Bangladesh garment industry.

Last year, Bangladesh exported garment products worth $10.69 billion (£6.03bn). However, while the industry continues to grow, the 2 million workers, mostly women who are at the heart of its boom have not been touched by the benefits of this growth.

Increasing prices of essential goods, salaries well below ‘living wage’ levels and limited trade union action are some of the main reasons behind the growing worker unrest which threatens the industry.

On 12 April, over 20,000 workers rioted in Dhaka, demanding higher wages. Police used tear gas and batons to break up the protests and at least 50 workers were injured. A key issue that led to the protests was the rising price of rice which has doubled in the past year. Households are estimated to spend nearly 70% of their income on food.

On 13 Aug, over 5,000 workers staged a demonstration in Dhaka demanding a pay rise. When their demands were ignored, they ransacked the factory, clashed with factory officials and blocked one of the main highways for 3 hours.

Violent protests such as these are not one-off incidents, but seem to have been woven into the fabric of the Bangladeshi garment industry. While the search for solutions continues, so does the blame game. According to ‘Sammilito Garment Sramik Federation’, a platform of garment factory workers, the agitation is caused due to rising prices of essential commodities. Opposing this view, many factory owners claim that administrative failures of the government, ‘conspirancies’ from the outside and poor implementation of law and order are to blame.

The list of causes seems to be endless and there are obviously no easy answers. But it is important that the debate and efforts do not lose sight of the key issue: prices are soaring; the minimum wage is not enough to meet basic needs and the plight of garment workers in Bangladesh continues unabated.