First Meeting of Garment Sector Minimum Wage Board Underway in Dhaka
- Update Time : 06:56:29 am, Wednesday, 4 November 2026
- / 15 Time View
The first meeting of the minimum wage board formed to determine a new wage structure for readymade garment workers is underway in the capital.
The meeting began at 11:30am on Wednesday at the board’s office in Segunbagicha, Dhaka. It was initially scheduled for 3pm but was later rescheduled, according to a notice issued by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
On Tuesday evening, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) President Mahmud Hasan Khan discussed labour unrest and wages with Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.
He requested the prime minister to advise the government’s minimum wage board to convene its meeting by Wednesday as part of the process to finalise a new wage structure within this month.
The government formed a six-member minimum wage board on Sunday, November 1, to revise wages for workers in the readymade garment sector. Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury announced the formation of the board at a press conference at the Secretariat that morning.
The board is chaired by Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfakur Rahman.
Its members include Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Director ABM Shamsuddin and Bangladesh Employers’ Federation Joint Secretary-General Asif Ayub, representing factory owners.
The workers’ representatives are Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, and Babul Akhtar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF).
Dhaka University Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed has been appointed as the independent member.
The board will recommend minimum wages for workers across all grades. Based on its recommendations, the government will announce the revised wage structure and publish it in an official gazette.
The last minimum wage for garment workers was set at Tk 12,500 in December 2023 and came into effect the following month.
Previously, minimum wages in the garment sector were generally reviewed every five years through the formation of a wage board. However, an amendment to the Labour Act passed by Parliament on April 10 reduced the wage revision interval from five years to three years.
