Workers’ representatives have proposed a minimum wage of Tk 32,000 for garment industry workers. They proposed a minimum of Tk 30,000 for new or apprentice workers.
The proposal was made today, Monday, at the second meeting of the Minimum Wage Board, held at its office in Segunbagicha in the capital. The details were given at a joint briefing for journalists after the three-hour meeting.
The meeting was chaired by Minimum Wage Board chairman Syed Azad Subhani. Present were the board’s neutral member, Dhaka University professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed; owners’ representative ABM Shamsuddin, a director of the garment makers’ association BGMEA; workers’ representative Babul Akhter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF); workers’ permanent member Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal; and owners’ permanent representative Asif Ayub, joint secretary general of the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation.
At the briefing, workers’ representative Babul Akhter set out their proposal in detail. He said that, taking into account nutrition, calories, house rent, medical care and education for a family of four, a worker needs Tk 45,000 to 60,000 a month for a normal life. But considering the industry’s capacity and the overall situation, they proposed a minimum wage of Tk 32,000 at the fourth grade.
The owners were due to submit a written proposal at the meeting but could not. Owners’ representative ABM Shamsuddin said unrest in the industrial areas around Dhaka meant owners had to concentrate more on running their factories, so they needed more time to prepare a wage proposal. They asked for seven working days, but with everyone’s agreement the board gave them four. They will submit their proposal to the board within the next four working days.
Wage board chairman Syed Azad Subhani instructed the owners to submit their proposal within four working days. “Even if the owners fail to submit a proposal at the next meeting, we will go ahead with a decision. We will not wait for their proposal,” he said.
At the briefing, the chairman said two important decisions were taken unanimously at the meeting. First, to learn workers’ real conditions and expectations at first hand, board members will visit garment factories of every category in different labour-intensive industrial areas within this week. Second, the board’s neutral member, Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, has been given the task of reviewing international wage-setting benchmarks. If needed, he can seek the views of Dhaka University’s Institute of Business Administration (IBA) and of leading economists and experts.
The chairman and the owners’ and workers’ representatives said the work of setting the new wage structure will be finished by December. According to them, the new wage structure will take effect from December, and workers will receive the increased wage in the first week of January.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report