What makes higher garment wages affordable?

Résumé détaillé

But another question has received less attention. How can it still be expensive to make and deliver a garment from Bangladesh when the people who make it are paid so little?

Bangladesh’s garment factory wage debate has raised several questions. What does it cost a worker’s family to live decently? How much of a pay rise can factories absorb? Could higher pay itself improve productivity? The government wage board needs to weigh these questions as it prepares a new pay scale.

But another question has received less attention. How can it still be expensive to make and deliver a garment from Bangladesh when the people who make it are paid so little? The answer matters because some of the costs that limit what factories can pay to workers are within the control of government agencies, global buyers, and factory owners.

Imagine two RMG factories, one in Bangladesh and one in Vietnam, making the same garment. The factory in Bangladesh pays lower wages. Does it deliver the order at lower cost? That depends on how many saleable pieces each line produces, how much the fabric costs, and what it takes to ship on time.

On November 9, garment workers proposed a monthly minimum wage of Tk 32,000, up from Tk 12,500 for the lowest regular grade. Our factory owners, on the other hand, warn that higher wages could cost Bangladesh export orders. Employer and worker representatives have already agreed to finalise a new pay scale by December, with workers expected to receive the higher pay in January 2027. The wage board must assess what workers need and what different factories—depending on their size—can afford.

A recent column in The Daily Star argues for putting workers’ living costs at the centre of the wage review. Others are insisting on an evidence-based revision. One calculation suggests about Tk 16,200 monthly would restore the purchasing power of the minimum wage (Tk 12,500) set in December 2023, without justifying whether the 2023 wage itself was adequate. The 2025 living-wage estimates were higher, at Tk 25,166 in Dhaka’s surrounding industrial cities and Tk 30,459 in Dhaka city.

The wage board has to assess what factories can afford today.

For many…

Début de l'article, extrait de The Daily Star. Pour lire la suite, ouvrez l'article chez le média.