Published : 01 Nov 2026, 02:01 PM
Updated : 01 Nov 2026, 02:01 PM
The government has announced the formation of a minimum wage board amid labour unrest in the readymade garment sector over demands for higher wages.
The four strong board will be chaired by Senior District Judge Sheikh Ashfaqul Rahman. It comprises one representative each from the owners' and workers' sides, along with an independent member, according to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Asif Ayub, joint secretary-general of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, will represent the owners, while Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Nationalist Workers' Party, will represent the workers.
Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed of the Department of Public Administration at Dhaka University has been appointed as the independent member.
The government has also formed a separate six-member wage board to determine the minimum wage for workers in the garment industry.
In accordance with the Labour Act, the six-member board comprises the four members of the minimum wage board, along with one representative each from the garment owners and workers.
ABM Shamsuddin, a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), will represent the owners, while Babul Akhtar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation, will represent the workers.
Labour Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury Arif announced the formation of the boards at a press conference at the Secretariat at 11:30am on Sunday. The Ministry of Labour and Employment subsequently issued two notifications naming the members.
The notification requested minimum wage board chairman Ashfaqul to take the next steps towards determining the minimum wage in consultation with representatives of the owners, workers and the independent member.
Representatives of employers and workers in a particular industry work with the board to determine the minimum wage for that sector.
Section 139 of the Labour Act states that the government may consider determining the minimum wage for workers in an industry following an application from the owners, workers or both parties.
The government amended the Labour Act this year, reducing the interval for revising minimum wages from five years to three.
Labour unrest has been ongoing in the capital for the past several days, with garment workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000. On Sunday, clashes broke out between police and garment workers during a blockade in Dhaka's Mirpur area.
The last minimum wage for garment workers was announced in November 2023 and came into effect the following month. Accordingly, the current minimum wage rate for the sector is set to expire next month.
In 2023, the minimum wage for garment workers was raised from Tk 8,000 to Tk 12,500, marking an increase of 56.25 percent.
