During the late 1970s through the 1990s, the Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) quota system limited garment exports from some major producers, which encouraged firms to shift production to lower-quota or quota-free countries. Bangladesh benefited from this global trade structure as buyers and investors developed supply chains that relied on low-wage factory labor for export garments.
On 4 July 1978, Desh Garments signed a collaboration deal with South Korea’s Daewoo that trained Bangladeshi supervisors and managers in modern garment production and marketing. This is widely cited as an early turning point that helped Bangladesh build a large export-oriented ready-made garment (RMG) sector based on wage labor, especially for women workers moving from rural areas into factory jobs.
In 1980, Bangladesh created the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) by law to develop and manage export processing zones (EPZs). EPZ policy supported the growth of export industries, including garments, by attracting investment and concentrating factory production for global markets.
In 1983, the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) was established as Bangladesh’s first EPZ. It became an important site for export manufacturing, reinforcing wage-labor factory work tied to foreign buyers and shipment deadlines.
In 1983, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) began operating as a major industry trade body. BGMEA helped organize the sector’s relationship with government policy and with international buyers, shaping how wage labor was managed across thousands of factories.
On 1 January 1995, the WTO’s Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) started a 10-year transition to end many textile and clothing quotas. For Bangladesh, this created uncertainty and pressure to increase efficiency and scale—often by intensifying factory production and relying heavily on low-paid wage labor.
In the mid-1990s, BGMEA, the ILO, and UNICEF backed a plan to remove children under 14 from garment factories by 31 October 1995 while placing them into education programs with stipends. This effort mattered because it changed hiring practices and drew global attention to labor standards in Bangladesh’s export garment supply chains.
On 1 January 2005, the ATC finished and remaining quotas under the old system largely ended, bringing textiles and clothing further under standard WTO rules. Bangladesh’s garment industry continued expanding, deepening its dependence on large-scale wage labor and tight delivery schedules demanded by global buyers.
On 5 October 2006, the Minimum Wage Board announced a wage structure for garment workers, setting Tk 1,662.50 per month as the minimum for entry-level workers (including basic pay and allowances). This was an important moment in formalizing wages in a rapidly growing industry where worker organizing and labor disputes were becoming more visible.
On 29 July 2010, Bangladesh’s Minimum Wage Board announced a higher entry-level monthly minimum wage of Tk 3,000, replacing the 2006 level. The increase followed major worker protests and reflected growing tension between export growth and workers’ demands for pay that could cover basic living costs.
On 24 November 2012, a deadly fire at the Tazreen Fashions factory near Dhaka killed at least 117 people and injured hundreds. The disaster highlighted severe factory safety problems and became a major pressure point on brands, factory owners, and the government to address fire exits, locked doors, and enforcement failures.
On 24 April 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapsed in Savar, killing 1,134 people and injuring thousands—one of the deadliest disasters in garment industry history. The event intensified scrutiny of Bangladesh’s RMG model of low-cost wage labor and pushed governments, brands, and unions toward stronger inspection and remediation systems.
On 15 May 2013, global brands, retailers, and trade unions signed the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a legally binding program for independent inspections and repairs. The Accord represented a major shift from voluntary brand auditing toward enforceable commitments connected to factory conditions for wage workers.
In November 2013, Bangladesh’s wage board finalized a new garment minimum wage of Tk 5,300 per month, with government announcements that it would take effect on 1 December 2013. Coming after major disasters and labor unrest, the wage decision showed how factory wage labor conditions had become a central policy issue for the industry’s future.
The ready-made garment industry and wage labor in Bangladesh (1978–2013)