View the Results
GWD just released the results from its most recent Dialogue with workers in the apparel supply chain sector in Bangladesh. Learn more about what workers told us about their workplace and home life by visiting our Dashboard. And view the GWD Catalogue for the different access options we offer. The results are relevant for any international brand that sources apparel from Bangladesh and investors in those brands concerned about their social impact. They are especially relevant for corporations seeking to comply with new EU regulations related to sustainability and human rights reporting and due diligence. They are also relevant to other stakeholders concerned about labor rights in the global apparel supply chain.
Focus of the Dialogue
The focus of the Dialogue, which took place in November 2023 with 500 workers, was on the change in the minimum wage announced by the tripartite Minimum Wage Board on November 11 and which went into effect on December 1. You can find information on:
- Worker awareness of the new minimum wage structure;
- The quality of workers’ home life, especially how they are managing to make ends meet in the face of 10 percent inflation;
- Workplace conditions, including their wages and hours; and
- Workers’ aspirations for workplace advancement, with a focus on their willingness to become line supervisors.
Throughout the Dialogue we look at whether women and men give different answers and suggest reasons why. We also look at how answers differ across workers in different types of factories and working in different industrial areas.
First of two Dialogues
This is the first of two Dialogues related to the change in the minimum wage. We talked with directly away from the factories where they work, unmediated by the influence of factory management or other vested interests. The Dialogue took place in November and early December 2023, just around the time the government announced its initial decision on the new minimum wage, on November 11.
The second dialogue will occur in March, when we will see what sort of immediate changes there have been in the lives of workers. This will provide further insights to stakeholders in the global apparel sector as they make their own decisions about how to address human rights and labor rights issues in their supply chain, and seek to comply with new EU regulations.
Call to Action
The Government of Bangladesh has made its move with respect to the pay workers in Bangladesh receive. How should other stakeholders respond? The results of the Dialogue give stakeholders insights into what workers think.
We especially encourage brands that source from Bangladesh and investors in value chains. They can use these results as part of their due diligence assessment of the material impacts, risks, and opportunities related to human rights in the apparel value chain in Bangladesh. GWD also invites all stakeholders to engage with GWD as we plan future rounds of data collection in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Vietnam, and Turkey.
You can find the Bangladesh data on the GWD Dashboard, and view the GWD Catalogue for the different access options we offer.