Last week garment workers protested again in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka over low pay. Several were injured and many arrests were made during demonstrations against the 'inadequate' rise in the minimum wage.

The protests were sparked by a government announcement that monthly minimum wages for the country's millions of garment workers would rise by about 80%. This may sound a lot but union leaders said the raise is inadequate and does not match the high cost of living.

The government has set the new minimum wage at 3000 takas per month, up from 1662, but the protesters maintain they need 5000 takas per month to be able to live.  Campaigners in the UK calculate a living wage in Bangladesh at £98 a month which is more than 10600 takas.

The apparel manufacturing industry is a key area of the Bangladeshi economy and society as it accounts for about 40% of Bangladesh's total industrial workforce. Exports amount to 80% of the country’s hard currency earnings. Major high street retailers including Wal-Mart, Tesco, H&M, Zara, Carrefour, Gap, Metro, J.C. Penney, Marks & Spencer, Kohl's and Levi Strauss all import clothes in bulk from Bangladesh.

Bangladesh's garment exports, mainly to the US and Europe and earn more than US$12 billion a year. The country has more than 4,000 factories employing between two and three million workers.

Protests have been ongoing since June when 700 garment factories near Dhaka were shut for two days after violent protests by tens of thousands of workers.

As protests for higher wages spread from China and Cambodia to other countries in Asia such as Bangladesh, outsourcing options for major western retailers may gradually shrink, resulting in higher retail prices in the US and Europe.

Here is a short video on the protests which presents the arguments of the garment workers and factory owners.