In late February, a number of garment unions in Bangladesh formed the IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) to issue a series of demands that included a call for the minimum wage to be raised from the current US $68/month to US $192/month. The garments sector worldwide is renowned for its vicious race to the bottom tactics, and in Bangladesh workers have not had a wage increase since 2013. The wage increases that workers won in the years 2009 to 2013 only came through long bitter struggles that saw millions of workers take to the streets (see here and here). Given the history of repression, garment workers can expect a hard road ahead.
In late February, a number of garment unions in Bangladesh formed the IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) to issue a series of demands that included a call for the minimum wage to be raised from the current US $68/month to US $192/month. The garments sector worldwide is renowned for its vicious race to the bottom tactics, and in Bangladesh workers have not had a wage increase since 2013. The wage increases that workers won in the years 2009 to 2013 only came through long bitter struggles that saw millions of workers take to the streets (see here and here). Given the history of repression, garment workers can expect a hard road ahead.
