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Bangladeshi Garment Workers Reject Government Wage Hike Offer


Bangladeshi garment workers and their supporters hold a rally in Dhaka, Sept. 14, 2018, to demand a higher monthly minimum wage.
Bangladeshi garment workers and their supporters hold a rally in Dhaka, Sept. 14, 2018, to demand a higher monthly minimum wage.

The trade unions of Bangladeshi garment workers have rejected a government-proposed wage hike.

Workers took to the streets of Dhaka, the capital, Friday to protest the minimum monthly wage increase from $63 per month to $95 which is set to go into effect in December.

"We can't accept this salary. It is an injustice and inhuman," union leader Jolly Talukder, told the French news agency AFP. "It is cheating the workers."

Union leaders want a minimum wage of at least $180 a month for their members.

Bangladesh is one of the world's largest manufacturers of ready-made clothing, due in large part to the low wages paid to garment workers.

The working conditions of garment workers came under scrutiny in 2013, with the collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza building in Khaka that killed more than 1,100 garment factory workers and turned a spotlight on the hazardous conditions in the industry.

The unions have mounted demonstrations for years for higher salaries.

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