Garment Wage Protests: BNP's Opposition Promises Meet the Test of Government

Garment workers in Bangladesh are back on the streets, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000 as living costs rise. The protests have led to clashes with police, factory closures and road blockades across several industrial areas, and one worker has died. The BNP-led government has formed a new wage board to review pay. The dispute also puts the party's own record under scrutiny. In opposition, BNP leaders repeatedly backed workers' wage demands. In government, the party is now responsible for meeting them.

Why Are Workers Protesting?

The current minimum wage for garment workers is Tk 12,500, set in December 2023. Workers say it no longer covers basic costs such as food, rent, healthcare and transport, and are demanding Tk 30,000.

The latest protests have spread across Dhaka, Gazipur, Savar and Ashulia. Workers have blocked roads and gathered outside factories. Clashes with law enforcement and reports of vandalism have forced many factories to suspend operations. On 4 November, more than 100 factories in Savar and Ashulia declared holidays amid clashes between workers and police.

Toufiq Sheikh, a 21-year-old garment worker, was critically injured during the protests in Gazipur. He later died while undergoing treatment at a hospital in Dhaka.

The Government's Response

On 1 November 2026, the government formed a six-member minimum wage board with representatives of workers, employers and the government, along with an independent member. According to a meeting notice issued by the board under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, it was convened to formulate wage recommendations under Section 139 of the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman then held an emergency meeting with ministers and officials. The following day, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed met with leaders of the garment industry associations, BGMEA and BKMEA, and urged them to resume normal operations. On 3 November, he said, "The government is sincerely working to improve the living standards of garment workers," adding that wages would be negotiated between workers' and employers' representatives through the new board.

The board's worker representatives have called for consultations with labour organisations to reach a consensus on a wage proposal. They have also demanded the release of detained workers and the withdrawal of cases against them, warning that "lasting peace in the industry cannot be established by ignoring workers' legitimate demands."

The board held its first meeting at 11 am on 4 November 2026.

What BNP Said before 

BNP has spoken on garment workers' wages and rights several times over the years, often criticising the government of the day over its handling of labour unrest.

2009: In November 2009, then BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia urged factory owners to pay workers the standard minimum wage and to disburse salaries within the first week of each month. She also called on the government to improve law and order and to support better housing for workers.

2013: BNP's then acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir criticised the government's handling of RMG unrest and blamed Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan for contributing to it. He called for immediate action to stop the violence and protect the industry.

2014: BNP condemned police action against Tuba Group workers who were on hunger strike over unpaid wages and festival bonuses. Mirza Fakhrul called for their outstanding salaries to be paid immediately.

2023: On 27 October 2023, as workers protested for higher pay, Mirza Fakhrul cited rising food prices and inflation and said, "The demand to increase the minimum wage of garment workers from Tk 8,000 to Tk 23,000 is reasonable."

BNP Government’s Current Stance

Ahead of the 2026 election, BNP pledged to set up a wage commission to review and revise workers' salaries every two years, as part of wider promises on workers' welfare.

Following the wage board's first meeting, worker and employer representatives agreed on a timeline for the revised wage structure, though the rates themselves have not yet been set.

The government's clearest statement on the unrest so far came in a Ministry of Home Affairs press release issued on 4 November 2026.

In it, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the situation in the garment sector was not a typical labour movement but "a calculated act of political violence", a conspiracy and an anti-state effort that was exploiting ordinary workers to destabilise the country.

According to the statement, garment workers currently have no outstanding demands, and the attacks, arson, and destruction are being carried out by people from outside the workforce who are posing as protesters.

The minister said investigations had found that some garment factory owners, along with former MPs, ministers and state ministers from the previous Awami League government, were driving the violence for political ends. He also alleged that "mafia elements and reactionary forces" were carrying out a conspiracy orchestrated from a neighbouring country. The government, he said, had ordered that the violence be suppressed "with a firm hand". The press release did not give details of the investigations or the evidence behind these allegations.

The minister said workers' main demand had been a wage board to set a new minimum wage every three years. He said the government had begun forming the board well in advance, and that the delay stemmed from the time it took workers' representatives to submit their nominations. The board was formed as soon as the names arrived, he said.

It is led by an official with the rank of senior district judge and is working towards a new wage structure, effective from 1 January 2027, that takes into account inflation, the state of the economy, and the cost of living.

He described the Prime Minister as strongly pro-labour and pro-industry, and said the Prime Minister had directed that improving workers' living standards and welfare be given priority. The government's main goals, he said, were to boost exports, achieve economic growth and create jobs.

According to the home minister, the government has held meetings with factory owners and labour leaders in recent days, and both sides agreed that the recent destruction did not reflect a genuine movement of ordinary workers, but that workers were being used as a shield for others' political interests.

The press release did not address the Tk 30,000 demand.

NCP's Stance 

The National Citizen Party (NCP) has expressed solidarity with the protests. NCP Senior Joint Secretary Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan told Nutshell Today, "NCP has already expressed solidarity with this ongoing movement, and given the current inflation, the way prices have increased across sectors, including gas and electricity, from that perspective, the workers' demand for a wage hike is logical."

He blamed the government for the crisis.

"Due to this price hike across all kinds of fuel and electricity, both workers and owners are in danger at the same time. The entire industry is at risk. We view this as the government's failure. The government does not seem proactive enough or attentive enough to provide security to our largest export sector. We believe this is the root cause of this crisis."

He also accused BNP of inconsistency. "There is no consistency between what they said before and what they are saying now. I saw on their official social media page some statements from last year and earlier, supporting the workers' wage-hike movement; they even supported the movement for a 25,000 taka salary. But now they are saying something different."

Asif Mahmud acknowledged the possibility of outside involvement but said it did not cancel out the workers' case. "There is logic in the demands; we also do not deny that various forces might infiltrate and try to create chaos here, but to address the logical portion of it, the government has to sit down with the workers."

Jamaat-e-Islami's stance 

Jamaat-e-Islami Assistant Secretary Ahsanul Mahboob Zubair told Nutshell Today that "The issue of the garment workers should be considered keeping the current reality in mind, as the government has increased the salaries of government employees, which involves a few lakh people, but these workers are much, much more in number, genuinely work very hard and do not get paid accordingly."

Like the government, he suggested outsiders were involved. "Along with this labour movement, it seems to us that criminal accomplices have infiltrated and are trying to divert this entire situation in a different direction."

But he urged quicker action. "The government should consider the workers' issue as quickly as possible, keeping the existing reality in mind, and fulfil their valid and justified demands. Since it is November now, if the government does it in December, that is definitely good. We think it is already delayed; it should have been considered earlier."

What Happens Next?

The wage board now has to weigh workers' living costs against employers' concerns over production costs and competitiveness. The talks will also test whether worker representatives can secure a wage that reflects their needs, and whether the government's demand for order and its promise of better pay can be met together.

For BNP, the question is whether its record in opposition and its election pledges translate into real improvements in workers' pay. That will depend not only on what the board recommends but on whether it is implemented.