Bangladesh may raise garment worker pay

Bangladesh is considering raising garment workers monthly minimum wage from about $39 a month, following a garment-factory building collapse last month, a government minister said on Sunday. The government would set up a panel to make recommendations in consultation with clothing factory owners and labour leaders on how much pay should be increased, textiles minister Abdul Latif Siddique said on Sunday. The raise would be effective retrospectively from May 1, according to Siddique. Bangladesh last hiked the minimum pay to 3,000 taka ($39) a month in 2010 from 1,662 taka in 2006.