Bangladeshi Garment Workers Are Finally Getting a Pay Raise

Following a week of widespread protests and demonstrations, Bangladeshi garment manufacturers finally agreed to raise workers’ pay, according to Reuters.

“All parties involved agreed to raise wages across 6 of the 7 pay grades, leaving the minimum wages unchanged at 8,000 taka ($95).” And though the minimum wage isn’t going up, the newly elected government increased it in September, so at least the bracket was recently accounted for.

The pay bump is a huge win for garment workers after a week of absolutely brutal protests: as Reuters reported, at least one worker was killed and dozens were wounded last week, and then “at least 20 people were hurt in further clashes” on Sunday.

And though the Good Guys ultimately emerged victorious, the outcome was never guaranteed. Just before the manufacturers capitulated, the president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) had “threatened to cut off workers’ pay if they did not return to work.”

But he didn’t, and now, union leaders say workers will return to the jobs that the government desperately needs them to do. As the story noted, those awful wages helped to make the sector a “$30 billion industry accounting for 80 percent of Bangladesh’s exports.” And because of the outsized impact on the economy, the workers actually had some leverage this round.

You can read more about it at Reuters.

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