Several of the leading British fashion retailers are launching inquiries into allegations of substandard working conditions in India.

The move comes at a time when the same high street stores, including Marks and Spencer, are embroiled in a wage dispute crisis in Bangladesh that has seen garment workers stage violent protests.

Marks and Spencer has been joined by other well-known stores Next and Gap in launching investigations into their Indian suppliers, after allegations have emerged that young children have been left unattended as parents work in factories on the outskirts of the capital Delhi. According to a report by the London Observer, the fashion houses are responding to claims that these factories have been using middlemen to hire workers for just 25p per hour for Next and Gap, and 26p per hour at for Marks and Spencer. Some workers have also alleged that they have been paid under half of the legal overtime rate.

The trio of retailers have each pledged to end the practice of reportedly excessive overtime which Indian labour laws states is a clear breach of the ethical trading initiative (ETI). The three have apparently advised the Observer that abuses in their supply chains would not be tolerated and that they are 100 per cent committed to ethical trading.

While Marks and Spencer has stated it has not as yet been presented with the appropriate evidence to support the allegations, Gap has advised that it had discovered irregularities with wage violations and ordered its supplier to pay the appropriate compensation to those affected immediately.

For the third day running, Bangladeshi garment workers have clashed with police over wage rates.

UK fashion retailers such as H&M, Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Zara are among the world’s leading companies that source much of their clothing from the factories in the Southeast Asian nation.

Despite the proclamation of a new, improved minimum wage for garment makers being announced by the government on Friday, union leaders have rejected the deal as being well below what was asked. The government has offered 3,000 taka (£27) per month to workers, almost double the previous minimum wage. The unions are holding out for 5,000 taka (£45) which they argue matches the rising cost of living.

With no work being done, the predominantly female labour force in Bangladesh’s second-largest industry have taken to the streets, where, urged on by union leaders, they have protested with bitter abuse and throwing stones – in some cases bricks – causing authorities to respond with batons and rubber-bullets. Around 80 people have been injured in the latest clashes, which are taking place across the country, taking the total number close to 300. Police have also claimed that in the outskirts of the capital Dacca, where at least 20 factories have closed, protesters have looted shops and blocked roads.

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called on workers to prevent major damage to the industry and livelihoods by accepting the new offer. A peaceful resolution is seen as crucial to sustaining the £10bn export sector, which makes up close to 80 per cent of the country’s annual income.

The long-disputed wage structure across garment factories in Bangladesh has at last received some positive news.

After months of protests, many of them ending in violence, the Bangladesh wage board has announced that the minimum wage for garment workers will be almost doubled.

Under the terms of the new arrangement, the average monthly wage will rise from 1,662 taka (£16) to be set at 3,000 taka (£16). A formal announcement of the wage increase will be made by the labour ministry tomorrow. Despite the increase, the wage limit falls short of the 5,000 taka called for by workers.

Leading UK retailers such as Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Zara, Carrefour and H&M all source their clothes from Bangladeshi factories, where the garment industry is the financial backbone of the country’s economy. The industry accounts for some 80 per cent of the nation’s exports and generates around USD$12 billion per year.

Earlier this year, many western fashion labels pressured the Bangladeshi government into reviewing the minimum wage structure after allegations that the country’s factories were using exploitative labour. As a result, the wage board convened an emergency committee made up of union leaders, garment manufacturers and government officials to address the crisis.

The conflict saw angry workers clash with local police in recent weeks and it is not yet clear if union leaders will agree to the new government offer, which, despite the increase, still leaves the garment industry in Bangladesh as one of the world’s lowest paying.