孟加拉成衣業繁榮背後，薪資不足迫使工人縮減飲食與醫療支出

魯瑪・保羅（Ruma Paul）報導By Ruma Paul

孟加拉加濟布爾11月11日（路透）——每天破曉前，成衣工人希爾皮・卡通都會先用燒柴的黏土爐煮飯，因為她的家庭負擔不起瓦斯費，之後再前往達卡郊區工業重鎮加濟布爾的一間工廠上班。GAZIPUR, Bangladesh, Nov 11 (Reuters) - Before dawn each day, garment worker Shilpi Khatun cooks over a wood-fired clay stove because her family cannot afford gas, before heading to a factory in Gazipur, an industrial hub on the outskirts of Dhaka.

這名27歲女子是家中唯一經濟支柱，她的丈夫失業，父母和公婆都仰賴她的薪資生活。The 27-year-old is the sole breadwinner in a household where her husband is unemployed and her parents and in-laws depend on her wages.

儘管已在成衣業工作5年，物價上漲仍讓卡通難以負擔基本生活所需。孟加拉數千名成衣工人也有同樣挫折，上週發起抗議，要求將每月最低工資從1萬2500塔卡調高至3萬塔卡（242.82美元）。Rising prices have left Khatun struggling to afford basic necessities despite five years in the garment industry, a frustration shared by thousands of Bangladesh's garment workers who staged protests last week demanding the minimum monthly wage be raised to 30,000 taka ($242.82) from 12,500 taka.

卡通在住家外採集葉菜，準備中午配飯吃時表示：「現在什麼都變貴了。房租漲了一倍，食物更貴，不管我賺多少，還沒到月底就花光了。」"Everything costs more now. Rent has doubled, food is more expensive and whatever I earn disappears before the month is over," Khatun said as she gathered leafy greens outside her home to eat with rice for lunch.

加薪壓力持續升高WAGE PRESSURE MOUNTS

上週的動盪有些演變成暴力事件，迫使數百間工廠停工。工人發起抗議並與警方衝突，警方則使用催淚瓦斯和震撼彈驅散示威者。Last week's unrest, some of it violent, forced hundreds of factories to shut down as workers staged protests and clashed with police, who used tear gas and sound grenades to disperse demonstrators.

政府的工資委員會11月4日同意自12月起實施修訂後的薪資結構，工人將於1月首次領到依新薪資標準計算的薪水，但委員會尚未決定調幅。The government's wage board agreed on November 4 to implement a revised wage structure from December, with workers set to receive their first pay under the new scale in January, but has yet to determine the size of the increase.

低廉勞動成本讓孟加拉成為僅次於中國的全球第二大服飾出口國，也成為H&M、Zara、Gap、Primark和Walmart等全球品牌偏好的製造基地。這個產業創造該國逾80%的出口收入，僱用超過400萬人。Low labour costs have helped make Bangladesh the world's second-largest apparel exporter after China and a preferred manufacturing base for global brands including H&M, Zara, Gap, Primark and Walmart. The industry generates more than 80% of the country's export earnings and employs more than 4 million people.

然而，製造商表示，大幅調薪會削弱孟加拉相對於印度和越南等競爭對手的成本優勢，也會進一步壓縮已因能源成本上升而承壓的利潤率。Manufacturers, however, say a steep wage increase would erode Bangladesh's cost advantage over rivals such as India and Vietnam and further squeeze margins already under pressure from higher energy costs.

製造商說，除了基本工資外，工人還有每年9%的加薪幅度和兩筆節慶獎金；他們主張，大幅加薪的空間有限。Workers also receive a 9% annual increment and two festival bonuses in addition to their basic wages, manufacturers say, arguing there is limited room for substantial pay increases.

工人面臨艱難抉擇卡通等工人表示，薪資增幅跟不上物價上漲，讓他們不得不在日常開銷上斤斤計較。WORKERS MAKE STARK CHOICESWorkers like Khatun say the wage increase has not kept pace with rising prices, forcing them to make difficult choices over everyday spending.

卡通說，最艱難的日子裡，她一家人靠膨化米度日。她坐在與丈夫同住的鐵皮小房間裡說，儘管健康問題惡化，她已經3年沒有看醫生。On the hardest days, Khatun's family survives on puffed rice, she said. Sitting in the small tin-shed room she shares with her husband, she said she had not seen a doctor in three years despite worsening health problems.

5年來，她的薪水緩慢增加，但仍不足以跟上不斷上升的生活成本。她剛入行時月薪9000塔卡，現在賺1萬3500塔卡（108美元）。她說，加上加班費可賺約1萬6000塔卡，但這筆錢很少能撐到下一次發薪日。Her salary has crept up over five years but not enough to match rising costs. She now earns 13,500 taka ($108), up from 9,000 taka when she started. With overtime, she earns about 16,000 taka, but the money rarely lasts until the next payday, she said.

孟加拉自2022年以來持續面臨生活成本壓力，通膨率平均約9%。食品價格起初帶動物價飆升，但非食品成本也一直居高不下。Bangladesh has faced a prolonged cost-of-living squeeze since 2022, with inflation averaging around 9%. Food prices initially drove the surge, but non-food costs have remained high.

29歲的羅克薩娜・帕爾文（Roksana Parveen）在達卡郊區阿舒利亞一間工廠擔任縫紉機操作員。她說：「我買任何東西前都會再三考慮，連食物也是。我知道我的女兒們應該吃得更好，但我就是負擔不起。」"I think twice before buying anything, even food," said Roksana Parveen, a 29-year old sewing operator in a factory in Ashulia on the outskirts of Dhaka. "I know my daughters should be eating better, but I just can't afford it."

帕爾文和兩個女兒經常只靠米飯和蔬菜過活，肉類和魚類已成為她們負擔不起的奢侈品。為了節省開支，她的一個女兒輟學。Parveen and her two daughters often live on little more than rice and vegetables, with meat and fish becoming luxuries beyond their reach. To cut costs, one of her daughters dropped out of school.

（魯瑪・保羅報導；Aftab Ahmed和DJ Yap編輯）(Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Aftab Ahmed and DJ Yap)