RMG workers demand Tk 32,000 minimum wage 

Workers' representatives have proposed a minimum monthly wage of Tk 32,000 for garment workers, with the highest-paid category receiving Tk 48,000, as the Minimum Wage Board began reviewing a new wage structure for the country's apparel sector.

The current minimum monthly wage is Tk 12,500, fixed in December 2023.

The proposal was submitted at the second meeting of the Minimum Wage Board at its office in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, on Monday. Workers' representatives presenting separate four-grade wage structures for garment workers and factory employees present in the meeting. 

The meeting was chaired by Minimum Wage Board Chairman Syed Azad Subhani. Also present were independent member and Dhaka University Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed; employer representative and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director ABM Shamsuddin; worker representative and Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF) General Secretary Babul Akhter; permanent worker representative and Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal President Anwar Hossain; and permanent employer representative and Bangladesh Employers Federation Joint Secretary General Asif Ayub.