Labour market: jobs and strikes in Bangladesh

Almost ⅓ of young workers in the UK found a job thanks to personal relations, and at the same time, almost ⅓ of employers claim that it is difficult for candidates to get a job without mutual acquaintance. In an Opinium survey, over 60% of people aged 16 to 25 felt it increasingly difficult to find a job without knowing the right person. In turn, approximately ⅓ of employers declare a greater willingness to employ people with “similar social origins.” 50% of employers are more likely to give a job to someone recommended by a colleague, friend or family member.

In June this year, Germany had a shortage of approximately 1.7 million workers. Half of German companies had difficulty finding them, mainly due to people’s retirement from the baby boom generation. That is why German companies are increasingly employing robots, basing their development on robotic technologies and artificial intelligence. According to the International Federation of Robotics, approximately 26,000 robots were put to work in Germany in 2022. In terms of the size of the robot market, it is the fourth largest result in the world and the first in Europe.

In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, thousands of garment workers are demanding wage increases. The protests broke out after the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) proposed raising the monthly minimum wage by 25%, from $75 to $90, instead of the $208 demanded by employees. Bangladesh is the world’s second clothing-producing country after China – almost 3,500 factories employ approximately 4 million workers, most of whom are women.