The government on Saturday announced that the inconsistency, if any, in the newly announced wage structure for the readymade garment workers would be solved after the national elections scheduled for December 30.‘Do not pay heed to any rumour regarding new wage structure and all the misunderstanding would be removed after getting the new wages in the first week of January. Inconsistency, if any, in the new wage structure will be resolved through discussion with factory owners and labour leaders,’ state minister for labour Md Mujibul Haque said in a press briefing at his ministry.He urged all agitate workers at Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayangonj to join work from Monday saying that it would not be logical to create unrest in the RMG sector ahead of national elections.The state minister arranged the briefing following a meeting of Crisis Management Core Committee.Representatives from several ministries, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, industrial police and other law enforcement agencies and labour leaders attended the meeting.The state minister urged the factory owners to give the workers a clear idea about the new wage structure and requested them to develop relationship with the workers to avert any untoward situation.Workers of many factories at Ashulia, Gazipur and Narayanganj started demonstrations on December 9 rejecting the new wage structure.The workers allege that their basic wages in some grades in the new structure have been decreased from what they were previously.The workers observed work abstention in more than 50 factories in the areas up to Thursday. To calm the situation, the factory owners on Thursday announced three-day holyday up to Sunday.BGMEA president Md Siddiqur Rahman claimed that a vested quarter was instigating workers over the wage issue to create an unstable situation in the country ahead of national elections.He assured the workers that their wages would not be decreased and the BGMEA would always be proactive to resolve wage-related problems, if any.Salahuddin Shapon, secretary general of IndustryALL Bangladesh Council, urged the workers to resume work from Monday saying that the government and factory owners promised to resolve wage-related problems.‘We do not want to see any unrest in RMG sector ahead of national elections,’ said Amirul Haque Amin, president of National Garment workers Federation.BGMEA, however, arranged a separate press conference on labour situation at its headquarters in the city.In the press conference, the BGMEA and labour leaders jointly urged the workers to resume work and assured them of working on the inconsistency of wage structure after elections.The BGMEA president also said that if the workers did not resume work, factory owners would be forced to close down their units permanently.The government announced new wages of RMG workers last month fixing minimum wage at Tk 8,000 up from Tk 5,300 in 2013.
