Clean Clothes Campaign urges global brands to back Tk32,000 garment workers’ minimum wage

International labour rights network Clean Clothes Campaign has urged global fashion brands sourcing from Bangladesh to support garment workers’ demand for a monthly minimum wage of Tk32,000 amid ongoing protests and factory closures across the country.

In a statement, the organisation said more than 600 garment factories in and around Dhaka had closed following protests that began last weekend over wages and working conditions.

Besides a wage increase, workers are demanding an end to blacklisting and anti-union practices. The organisation called on the newly formed Wage Board to address these demands during the ongoing wage negotiations.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has threatened to enforce the “no work, no pay” provision if the protests continue, the statement said.

Clean Clothes Campaign drew parallels between the current unrest and the 2023 minimum wage negotiations, when the monthly minimum wage for garment workers was raised from Tk8,000 to Tk12,500.

Workers had demanded Tk23,000 at the time, a figure backed by independent research from the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies. The decision to set the minimum wage at Tk12,500 triggered widespread protests, which were met with a police crackdown.

Four workers were killed, thousands were injured and around 50,000 workers faced prosecution in criminal cases filed against unnamed workers, according to the organisation.

The current negotiations are taking place amid persistent inflation and rising prices of essential commodities. Inflation has remained above 8.5% for the past three years, the statement said.

“Workers cannot get by on their current wages. Prices of basic necessities have doubled or more in the past years, while workers’ wages have remained at starvation level,” said Salahuddin Shapon, president of the Bangladesh Revolutionary Garments Workers Federation and general secretary of the IndustriAll Bangladesh Council.

He said workers needed a monthly minimum wage of Tk32,000, pointing to rising corporate profits and recent increases in government employees’ salaries.

Kalpona Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, said the ongoing protests reflected workers’ frustration over the unequal distribution of wealth in the garment supply chain and years of inadequate wages.

Clean Clothes Campaign also highlighted the profitability of international fashion brands sourcing from Bangladesh, including H&M, Zara, Primark and Uniqlo.

According to the statement, Bangladesh's garment exports increased by 4.9% year-on-year to $3.17 billion in October 2026, from $3.02 billion in the same month last year.

It also cited the 2025 profits of major international fashion groups, including Inditex, which owns Zara, at $6.2 billion; Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, at $4.5 billion; H&M at $1.8 billion; and Associated British Foods, which owns Primark, at $1.4 billion.

The organisation called on international brands to publicly support the Tk32,000 minimum wage demand and commit to continuing their sourcing from Bangladesh after the wage increase.

It also urged brands to ensure that suppliers, BGMEA and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) support and implement the proposed wage increase.

Other demands include absorbing higher labour costs through purchasing prices, preventing violence against protesting workers, ending blacklisting and dismissals over participation in protests, respecting freedom of association and refraining from filing criminal cases against workers.

Anne Bienias of Clean Clothes Campaign said brands should support workers' demands before the wage negotiations conclude.

She cited a recent survey of more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh, in which 89% said their wages were insufficient to cover their families' basic expenses.

Clean Clothes Campaign has also launched an online campaign tool allowing members of the public to email decision-makers at 10 major international brands sourcing from Bangladesh, urging them to support the workers' demands.

Clean Clothes Campaign is a global network of more than 220 organisations operating in over 45 countries, working to improve labour conditions and protect workers' rights in the garment and sportswear industries.