Money Diary Bangladesh Garment Worker

Welcome to Money Diaries, where we're tackling what might be the last taboo facing modern working women: money. We're asking a cross-section of women how they spend their hard-earned money during a seven-day period – and we're tracking every last penny.

In this special edition of Money Diaries, we’re joining forces with the Garment Worker Diaries project from Microfinance Opportunities and Fashion Revolution, the global movement for a fair fashion industry, to hear from a garment worker in Bangladesh – one of the most garment-dependent nations in the world with clothing representing 84% of its exports and the industry employing over 4 million people.

In 2013, the Rana Plaza building in Dhaka, Bangladesh, which housed five different clothing factories, collapsed. The tragedy killed more than 1,100 garment workers, most of whom were young women. Since then, Fashion Revolution has been campaigning for a more transparent fashion industry and encouraging people to ask the brands they buy from: who made my clothes?"

Industry: RMG (ready made garment industry), machine helper
Age: 25
Location: Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Salary: Roughly 105,996 taka (£1,000)
Paycheque amount: 8,833 taka (£80.66) per month on average
Number of housemates: I live with my husband and two children. I am responsible for managing the household expenses, including rent and food. My husband, who works as a driver, transfers me around 9,000 taka (£82.18) per month to contribute.

The legal minimum wage in Bangladesh falls far short of the living wage, which varies from region to region. In Dhaka, it’s estimated to be 16,460 taka (£150.30) per month, which is more than twice the legal minimum wage of 8,000 taka (£73.05), according to Global Living Wage Coalition.

Our diarist earns just slightly more than the legal minimum wage and just 54% of the living wage. She is not part of a workers' union. The right to collective bargaining is outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but more than 80% of countries have violated this freedom. Where secured, unionisation is the most important lever for fair pay, equal treatment and safe working conditions in the global garment industry.

Monthly Expenses

Housing (rent + utilities): 3,500 taka (£31.96) per month
Transportation: Free
Children's education: 92 taka (£0.95) per month