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Delayed 15 min · 13:30 GMT

FLASH

Germany’s gas storage hits a record low of 61% as winter arrives Korea’s chip exports jump 259% as October shipments hit $115.3B Oil at $110: will talks, the status quo or strikes set the next move? The 49.3 Problem: China’s factories shrink as its carmakers sell abroad Week ahead: US midterms, two rate hikes, jobs data and AI’s next earnings test Weekend Wrap part 2: Record profits, Falling Stocks - and Nervous AI Investors Weekend Wrap 1: The AI bill nobody fully counted: Bangladesh, World's no.2 apparel exporter, forms garment wage board after protests shut 43 factories FBI pins $6.3B Binance heist on North Korea; withdrawals restart Exxon earns $15.4B, Chevron $9.9B as refining boom lifts Big Oil

Germany’s gas storage hits a record low of 61% as winter arrives Korea’s chip exports jump 259% as October shipments hit $115.3B Oil at $110: will talks, the status quo or strikes set the next move? The 49.3 Problem: China’s factories shrink as its carmakers sell abroad Week ahead: US midterms, two rate hikes, jobs data and AI’s next earnings test Weekend Wrap part 2: Record profits, Falling Stocks - and Nervous AI Investors Weekend Wrap 1: The AI bill nobody fully counted: Bangladesh, World's no.2 apparel exporter, forms garment wage board after protests shut 43 factories FBI pins $6.3B Binance heist on North Korea; withdrawals restart Exxon earns $15.4B, Chevron $9.9B as refining boom lifts Big Oil

Industries

Bangladesh, World's no.2 apparel exporter, forms garment wage board after protests shut 43 factories

Bangladesh workers are demanding a Tk30,000 minimum shut dozens of factories. It’s a cost question for the world’s No. 2 apparel exporter and for the global brands that source there.

News | 1 November 2026

Bangladesh, World's no.2 apparel exporter, forms garment wage board after protests shut 43 factories

Bangladesh’s garment sector, the engine of its export economy, is heading into another wage reset.

On 31 October, garment workers in Ashulia and Mirpur protested over unpaid wages, higher pay and a Tk30,000 minimum monthly basic salary. At least 23 Ashulia factories declared holidays. TBS’s later tally put closures at around 43 across Mirpur, Ashulia and Gazipur.

After three weeks of road blockades and clashes, factories declared holidays on Saturday as workers pressed for a Tk30,000 minimum basic wage and unpaid arrears.

The labour minister says a wage board will be formed today, with exporter bodies BGMEA and BKMEA on board. He also wants salaries paid by the 7th of each month.

Global brands sourcing from Dhaka will watch the final number closely, because it feeds straight into their landed costs.