Bangladesh ’s government formed a new wage board on Sunday to review garment workers’ pay amid intensifying protests over low wages that have shuttered hundreds of factories and paralyzed transport across major industrial areas. Despite the announcement, thousands of garment workers continued to stage demonstrations in and around Dhaka, resulting in clashes with police who fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds. In the Mirpur neighborhood, at least one police vehicle was set on fire.

Workers are demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 Bangladeshi taka ($245), more than double the current 12,500 taka ($100), saying that their earnings can no longer keep pace with inflation, which has driven up the cost of food, transportation, housing and healthcare, making day-to-day living untenable. Exacerbating matters are the unrelenting gas and power shortages , which, coupled with U.S. tariff uncertainty, have forced partial or total work stoppages.…