It took factories to collapse and more than 1,000 lives dead after before Bangladesh even considered hiking the minimum wage pay of its more than three million garment workers. Too late a hero, skeptics said.

Abdul Latif Siddique, Bangladeshi Textiles Minister, told reporters on Sunday the government will mandate employers to raise the monthly minimum wage of the country's garment workers from the current AU$38.55 a month. Although no specific amount was announced, the granting of the raise was deemed effective from May 1.

However, factory owners expressed reservation regarding the date of implementation of the new wage, claiming May 1 as start date was not possible.

Mr Siddique told the press conference the wage increase was needed "for the sake of good relations among factory workers and owners, and to cool down unrest."

But Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said the sector is going through tough times even before the series of mishaps of fires and building collapses happened.

As of Monday, the death toll from the collapse of the Rana building garment factory have reached to 1,125, 19 days after disaster struck in late April.

"The situation is not well after fire incident at Tazreen Fashions, political unrest, and the latest Rana Plaza tragedy," he told reporters in the same press conference.

It was in July 2010 when Bangladesh last increased its minimum wage for garment workers, from roughly AU$21.37 a month in 2006 to the present AU$38.55 a month. Before that, it was AU$12.08 a month in 1994.

Moreover, the Bangladeshi government announced it would facilitate legislation next month to allow workers form unions and engage in collective bargaining agreements with management on wages and working conditions.

It also promised to conduct inspections on thousands of factories by the end of the year, as well as employ 200 occupational safety inspectors.

But skeptics remained wary of the promises of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government since it had uttered the same promise of allowing workers for form unions years ago. Despite being one of the largest garment suppliers to Europe and the United States, Bangladesh admitted to the I.L.O. it only has 11 collective bargaining agreements.

A local newspaper, The Daily Star, said the country only has 51 inspectors to check and monitor over 200,000 factories, 5,000 of which are apparel makers.