DHAKA -- A prolonged wage dispute in Bangladesh's garment industry risks damaging a critical economic engine while adding to political turmoil that has rocked the country in recent weeks.
After major protests and violent clashes with police, the government last week mandated a 56% hike in the monthly minimum wage for workers making ready-made garments, to 12,500 taka or about $113. But workers said the increase was "paltry" and not enough to cope with soaring food prices and record inflation. Almost all unions, collectively representing 4 million people in the sector, rejected the hike and have continued to boycott shifts and block roads in Gazipur and Ashulia, the two main industrial belts on the outskirts of Dhaka.
