Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association leaders on Monday criticised labour rights groups which are demanding upward revision of the newly-announced minimum wage of Tk 8,000 for the readymade garment workers.‘Even after the fixation of minimum wage at Tk 8,000 for the RMG workers by prime minister Sheikh Hasina, a number of trade unions is issuing provocative statements and trying to hinder the peaceful environment in the sector,’ said BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman at a press conference at its office in the city.He raised question over the ‘motive’ of the trade union leaders who rejected Tk 8,000 as minimum wage.The BGMEA chief urged all to agree with the directive of the prime minister regarding the minimum wages.His comments came following the rejection of the new minimum wage by a number of trade unions which found the amount of Tk 8,000 wage was paltry for a garment worker.Siddiqur claimed that the garment industry was able to pay Tk 7000 as minimum wage but they agreed to Tk 8,000 as the amount had been set by the prime minister.Criticising a trade union federation, National Garment Workers Federation, the BGMEA chief said that the organisation had spread among the workers misinformation about the new minimum wage.Siddiqur claimed that it would be very tough for the apparel makers to implement the new wage as the consumer demand for apparel products decreased globally while production cost increased in the country.He apprehended that some of the factories might be closed after the implementation of the new wages.He said that around 1,200 factories were shut in 2014-16 due to various reasons, including compliance issue and cost of doing business. BGMEA senior vice president Faruque Hassan, vice president Mahmud Hasan Khan and directors Md Shahidul Haque Mukul, Md Ashikur Rahman, Md Munir Hossain and ANM Saifuddin, among others, were present at the press conference.
