Bangladesh raises monthly minimum wage for garment workers to $113 following weeks of protests

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Authorities in Bangladesh have announced a new minimum wage for garment factory workers after weeks of violent protests. Wages for entry-level workers will increase by 56% to $113 a month. Some workers’ groups rejected the increase, the first in five years, saying it was too small because of rising living costs. Workers had demanded a $208 monthly minimum wage and demonstrated for weeks in the streets, attacked factories, fought with police and burned vehicles. Bangladesh is the second largest garment-producing country in the world after China with nearly 3,500 factories employing about 4 million workers, most of them women. It annually earns about $55 billion from exports of garment products, mainly to the United States and Europe.