Bangladesh to propose garment wage hike

(Vatican Radio) Bangladesh intends to announce a new minimum wage for garment factory workers in early November. It took international pressure and a string of fatal factory accidents in recent months to get the government of Bangladesh to consider legislating a minimum wage increase for workers in the garment industry. The government is also hoping the increase will end a wave of strikes that hit nearly one-fifth of factories last month. Listen:
Workers unions are seeking an increase of about 50 to 80 per cent, and factory owners are preparing to ask Western retailers, such as Wal-mart, JC Penney and H&M, to pay more for garment manufacturing to defray the cost. Wal-mart and H&M have already come out in favour of a wage hike.

Bangladesh is the world's second-largest clothing exporter but workers only earn about half of what workers make in Vietnam and Cambodia, and about 25 per cent of garment workers in China. The new wage being sought is 8,000 taka or $102 per month, which represents 2.5 times the current wage. Factory bosses have formally offered 3,600 taka. However, the country’s official wage board, which was set to meet on Monday, is expected to suggest a monthly wage between 4,500 to 5,500 taka. According to a Bangladeshi think-tank, however, a living monthly wage is 6,450 taka. Any wage increase would then need approval by the country’s law and labour ministries.