The fifth meeting of the minimum wages board ended on Wednesday without finalizing new wages for readymade garment (RMG) workers of the country.
However, Liaquat Ali Mollah, chairman of the minimum wages board, said that they completed important discussions at the meeting.
The delay in coming up with revised minimum wages continue to frustrate workers as they continue to protest in demand of higher minimum wages, which they believe is currently insufficient to meet their living costs.
The manufacturers have offered workers a 25% pay raise, ignoring demands for a nearly threefold increase to the basic salary, which proved to be the focus of discontent among workers.
Police said at least 5,000 garment workers, demanding a monthly minimum wage of Tk23,000 ($208), set up roadblocks in the capital Dhaka.
Protests began last week but violence escalated on Monday when tens of thousands left their shifts and staged protests in Gazipur, where a six-storey factory was torched by workers, leading to the death of one labourer.
Another worker was killed during clashes between police and protesters.
Unions say that garment factory owners — who include ministers and influential lawmakers — have played a role in fixing the minimum wage during past negotiations.
The owners accepted the proposals of reducing the grade system from existing seven to five. The top two grades (1 and 2) will be abolished, Mollah further said.
He also said that the next meeting will be held in the second week of this month, where the owners will propose their revised proposals, adding that the new wage will be declared in the second week of November and urged the workers to be patient.
“Third parties are taking advantage of the ongoing unrest. You should not damage your own resources as if this industry is destroyed, you will be the main sufferer.”
Owners’ representative at the minimum wage board Md Siddiqur Rahman said they will revise and make a raise of the previously proposed wage of Tk10,400 amid labour unrest in different industrial zones across the country. He didn’t reveal any specific amount.
“Discussing with the manufacturers, we will submit a new proposal to the wage board and the increase will be significant. However, if the government wants, they can increase it more,” he added.
He assured that the wage of the workers is increasing from their previous proposal and he hoped that the workers will be satisfied.
Regarding the ongoing worker’s agitation, he said that a third-party may provoke the workers.
“I request our workers to refrain from any trap or provocation,” he added.
Workers’ representative Sirajul Islam Roni said that they are waiting for the proposal of the owner. Hopefully they will offer the revised proposal in line with the current market.
“We don’t demand such wages which are not possible to pay from the owners’ ends. We have to consider the current industry capacity amid the global economic turmoil. I have demanded that the wages should be increased so that a worker can live well with his family,” he added.
In response to a question on the current situation in the RMG sector, he stated that they favour sensible labour movement.
“I do not support any vandalism and the recent movement may have been fueled by outsiders or a third party, I do not think actual workers are involved in any factory vandalism,” he went on to say.
Previously, on October 22, workers’ representatives suggested Tk20,393 for RMG workers’ minimum wages, while owners’ representatives proposed Tk10,400, both increases from the current minimum wage of Tk8,000 set in 2018 for entry-level workers.
On April 9 earlier this year, the Ministry of Labour and Employment formed the wage board of four permanent members, led by Senior District Judge Liaquat Ali Mollah, to review the pay of RMG employees.
RMG producers demand factory protection
Manufacturers of the readymade garment (RMG) sector on Wednesday demanded security of their industry facilities amid the ongoing workers’ unrest in this sector regarding a raise in the wages.
They also demanded to arrest the individuals involved in the ongoing unrest in this sector immediately.
Manufacturers were speaking at a general meeting with its members, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) in its Uttara office of the capital on Wednesday.
Nearly 200 factory owners gathered at the Uttara office to express their concern regarding the ongoing unrest in the garment factories over the last one week.
They also urged the government to issue a special notification allowing the implementation of section 13/1 of the labour law.
The section 13 (1) of the labour law entails that an employer may, in the event of an illegal strike in any section or department of any establishment, close down either wholly or partly such section or establishment.
