The government has formed a new wage board to determine the minimum wages of garment workers amid ongoing protests demanding a monthly minimum wage of 30,000 taka.

Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury announced the formation of the six-member board on Sunday.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment issued two separate notifications appointing representatives of employers, workers and neutral parties to review the existing wage structure and recommend a new minimum wage.

According to one notification, ABM Shamsuddin, a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), has been appointed as the employers' representative, while Babul Akhter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, will represent the workers.

The second notification named Dr Mosleh Uddin Ahmad, a professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Dhaka, as a neutral member. Asif Ayub, joint secretary-general of the Bangladesh Employers Federation, has been appointed as another employers' representative, while Anwar Hossain, president of Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, will represent workers.

The appointments were made under the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006, as amended in 2026.

The notifications instructed the chairman of the Minimum Wage Board to initiate the process of determining the minimum wage for garment workers in consultation with representatives of employers, workers and neutral members.