Dhaka, Bangladesh – Laili Begum can no longer afford to keep her two children in school. There are days when the 37-year-old garment worker struggles to put even one proper meal on the table.

Begum, an experienced sewing operator at the Virtual Bottoms Limited ready-made garments factory near Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka, earns around 15,000 taka ($121) a month. Her monthly earnings sometimes rise to 18,000–20,000 taka ($145–$161) when she works overtime.

Earlier this year, her 15-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son dropped out of school because she was unable to afford their education.

"We can barely afford one proper meal a day," she told Al Jazeera, describing their current situation. "This morning, we had only puffed rice and Bombay mix [a snack]. There was nothing for lunch. We’ve been going hungry, hoping to have a proper meal tonight. Yesterday was the same. This is how we survive now."

“My son is so thin that you can count every rib in his chest. What else can I do?”

Begum is among approximately four million garment factory workers in Bangladesh, half of whom are women. These workers are now protesting for better wages.

Bangladesh, the world’s second-largest apparel exporter behind China, serves as a vital supplier for major global fashion brands including H&M, Zara, Levi Strauss, Walmart, and Primark. The nation's ready-made garment industry generates more than 80 percent of its total export earnings, which reached $39 billion during the last financial year.

Yet, the people sewing those clothes say their pay no longer covers basic living costs.

Bangladesh, a Muslim-majority South Asian nation of 170 million people, maintains one of the lowest wage rates among apparel-producing countries globally.

Cambodia's monthly minimum wage for garment workers stands at $210, while wages in Vietnam range from $140 to $210. Meanwhile, manufacturing hub wages in China's Guangdong province range between $286 and $378 per month.

That disparity, which has been worsened by rising inflation and the growing cost of living, pushed workers to strike and take to the streets on Saturday. They are demanding a minimum wage of 30,000 taka ($241), which is more than double the current wage of 12,500 taka ($102).

On Sunday, Begum joined one such protest in the Jamgora part of the Ashulia industrial area on the outskirts of the capital Dhaka. Police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesters and arrested dozens of them.

According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, demonstrations disrupted operations at 529 factories on Sunday, affecting nearly a million workers.

Later that day, the government announced the formation of a six-member wage board to review the workers’ demands.

However, that did not prevent the garment workers from returning to the streets for a third consecutive day on Monday.

In northern Dhaka’s Gazipur area, workers blocked the Dhaka-Tangail highway and vandalized and torched several vehicles, while clashes with police were reported from the neighboring Mirpur district.

“The government only makes promises,” Begum told Al Jazeera. “They haven’t told us when wages will increase and by how much.”

Rasel Khan, a 30-year-old garment worker in Ashulia, told Al Jazeera that his monthly earnings of 18,000–20,000 taka ($145–$161), including overtime, were no longer sufficient to support his family. His household includes his wife, child, mother, and younger brother.

As living costs soar, he has accumulated a debt of about 100,000 taka ($805) to meet his needs. “It’s impossible to support a family on this income anymore. Prices keep rising, and we have to borrow money just to survive,” he said.

The last revision of the minimum wage in the garment sector took place in December 2023. Since that time, prices have continued to climb. Official data recorded annual inflation at 8.34 percent in September, which included 7.22 percent for food and 9.30 percent for non-food expenses.

Begum says she pays 3,500 taka ($28) as rent for a single room shared with her mother and children. Her father, living in their village in the central district of Sirajganj, also depends on her income.

She says she is burning discarded paper and other materials to cook because she cannot afford a gas cylinder, which costs about 2,200 taka ($18).

Zahid Hussain, a former lead economist at the World Bank’s Dhaka office, stated that persistent inflation over the past five years has sharply eroded the purchasing power of low-paid workers.

"When real income falls, they have to cut their daily living standards," he told Al Jazeera, adding, "They don't have any surplus income."

Hussain stated that a recent increase in the salaries of government employees has created a “demonstration effect” among private-sector workers who are awaiting comparable relief.

The government’s announcement of a wage board follows an amendment to labour laws that reduced the wage review cycle from five years to three years. The current three-year period is set to end in December.

A day after protests erupted, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman convened an emergency meeting of top government officials on Sunday. Subsequently, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed met with garment factory owners on Monday and assured them that a new minimum wage would be established through negotiations.

Labour Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury meanwhile urged the workers to resume work, saying the wage board would begin its deliberations shortly.

However, Babul Akhter, a workers’ representative on the board, called for the new wages to take effect with the salaries for January 2027. He also urged the demonstrators to return to work while demanding the release of arrested workers and the withdrawal of cases filed against them.

The impending wage negotiations arrive at a challenging time for Bangladesh’s garment industry, as manufacturers attempt to balance workers’ demands for better wages alongside rising production costs and intensifying global competition.

Sheikh Hossain Muhammad Mustafiz, an official at Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and managing director of Cute Dress Industry Ltd, told Al Jazeera that fair wages and employment security must go hand in hand with their ability to compete in the international market.

“Workers deserve wages that support a decent standard of living. However, without fair purchasing prices from international brands, significant wage increases could put pressure on factories and threaten employment,” he said.

Mustafiz emphasized that global brands buying Bangladeshi garments must share the responsibility of protecting workers’ purchasing power amid rising inflation.

“Sustainable wage growth cannot be achieved by manufacturers alone,” he said. “International brands must contribute through fair pricing and responsible purchasing practices to protect both the workers’ livelihoods and the industry’s long-term sustainability.”

Taqbir Huda, a Tech Global Institute senior fellow at the University of Oxford, accused the western brands who buy Bangladeshi garments of not addressing the issue of the workers’ rights.

“One party that could change the situation overnight has held the most extractive and exploitative role: the western buyer brands who hold the lion’s share of the value that is generated by the clothes that these workers produce,” he told Al Jazeera.

Huda said the wage board, which was due this year, was announced only after the workers began their protest.

“History gives very little reason for the workers to believe anything will improve unless they protest,” he said, adding that the formation of the wage board does not meet their demands unless it addresses rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis.

Begum faces a prolonged decision‑making process regarding her new wages, which threatens another month of difficulty in feeding her family.

“Wages must rise, but food prices must also come down.”

Why it matters

The garment sector crisis directly impacts Bangladesh's export earnings and the livelihoods of millions of workers amid ongoing industrial unrest.