India's neighbor Bangladesh has become the second-largest apparel exporter in the world, after China, Jim Yardley reports, but labor unrest is growing as workers demand higher wages.
As recently as 2009, India held the No. 2 spot for global apparel exports, but Bangladesh's extremely low wages have helped push it ahead. Seamstresses in Bangladesh make garments for international brands, including Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Gap, for wages that can be as low as roughly $37 a month, the national minimum wage.
In India, minimum wage varies from state to state but is substantially higher. The minimum wage for unskilled labor (skilled labor, which includes making garments, would command a higher wage) was recently raised to nearly 5,000 Indian rupees ($90) a month in Haryana and is nearly 6,500 Indian rupees ($117) in New Delhi. Some of the workers involved in violent protests at a Maruti Suzuki factory in Haryana in July, shuttering it and leaving one manager dead, were paid a base rate of 7,000 Indian rupees ($126) a month.
Â
