Are apparel workers' wages in Bangladesh low or high?
Workers agitate in Mirpur on Monday, demanding a pay raise. Photo: Agamir Somoy.
Bangladesh is second in the world in ready-made garment exports. The next position belongs to Vietnam. The gap between Bangladesh and Vietnam in export volume is not that large. But if someone calculates the workers' wages, Bangladesh lags behind. And, the gap is also quite large.
The garment workers' movement in Bangladesh has brought the wage issue to the fore again. The workers have demanded that the minimum wage be 30,000 taka. The government has formed a wage board. There are indications that the new wage structure may be finalized in December.
However, clothing industry owners question the reasonableness of demanding 30,000 taka, more than double the current wage. On the other hand, workers say this amount must be increased to keep pace with inflation and the current standard of living.
The ready-made garment industry is the main sector of the country's export earnings. In the 2022 labour force survey, the number of workers in this sector was stated to be 4.3 million, 55 percent of whom are women. These workers' wages were last increased in 2023. The minimum wage was set at 12,500 taka. Before that, it was 8,000 taka.
In 2025, the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) published a report on garment workers' wages in various countries.
There, Bangladesh's minimum wage is shown as 101 dollars (12,500 taka). Garment workers in Vietnam were receiving a minimum of 171 dollars (according to the current exchange rate).
China tops the world in garment exports. Its export gap with Bangladesh, which is in second place, is huge. No information on China's wages was found in the AFWA report.
Bangladesh exports 38 billion dollars' worth of apparels a year, while Vietnam, in third place, exports 33 billion dollars. The next places on the export list are held by Turkey, India, Cambodia, Pakistan, Indonesia, and the United States, respectively. Bangladesh's neighbours Sri Lanka and Myanmar also export garments, but their positions are far behind.
Comparing workers' wages in neighbouring countries, it is seen that although India's minimum wage is lower, Pakistan's is higher. According to AFWA data, in 2023 workers in India received a minimum of about 95 dollars. In Pakistan, this figure was 134 dollars. Sri Lanka's minimum wage was about 81 dollars, and Myanmar's 93 US dollars.
In Cambodia, Bangladesh's competitor in garment exports, the minimum wage is 204 dollars. That is, it is double that of Bangladesh. Workers in Indonesia also receive a minimum of 183 dollars.
Government employees' salaries in Bangladesh were recently increased. Right after that, garment workers took to the streets. Garment industry owners do not deny the reasonableness of their demand for a wage increase.
BKMEA President Mohammad Hatem says because the prices of essential goods have risen, some wage increase is needed. However, he also said that over the past few years, factories have been giving annual wage increases at a rate of 9 percent to adjust for inflation.
Therefore, industry owners claim that an excessive increase in wages in one step would create a big pressure.
Looking at wage increases over the past decade, the minimum wage was raised to 5,000 taka in 2013. In 2018, it was increased to 8,000 taka. In 2023, it rose to 12,500 taka.
On the question of how reasonable the demand for an 18,000 taka increase after three years is, workers say that without this amount, it is impossible to keep pace with the rising cost of living, including the high prices of essential goods and rising house rents.
A 2025 report by the Global Living Wage Coalition showed that in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, a family needs at least 30,459 taka per month just to survive. And to live with dignity, each family needs 48,022 taka.
In that sense, the garment workers' demand is consistent with the report of this private global organization that works on wages. However, the country's garment industry owners argue that they are already under pressure due to the global recession, the energy crisis, and rising production costs, and that if wages are increased excessively now, many factories may close down.
