Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has deferred once again its fresh proposal on minimum wage for the workers due to hartal.
The proposal is now being expected to be submitted on October 31.
The trade body for the apparel industry was scheduled to place the proposal at a meeting of the wage board held on Sunday.
after enjoying a three days extended time to prepare an acceptable and realistic proposal revising the earlier proposal of 20% increment over existing minimum wage.
“The owners’ representative to the board was supposed to place a revised proposal today (Sunday), but could not attend the meeting due to countrywide shutdown,” said board chairman AK Roy said after the meeting.
Considering the present situation and having talks with other members, the board decided to hold next meeting on October 31. “We hope BGMEA to submit the proposal on the day.”
He said the board would finalise the salary and sent it to the labour and employment ministry for approval by the first week of November.
“The fresh proposal is ready and we were prepared to place it at the board meeting, but could not attend the meeting due to hartal,” Arshad Jamal Dipu, the owners’ representative to the board told the Dhaka Tribune.
“Considering the capability of the small and medium factories, we are going to propose Tk4,500 as minimum monthly wage, which include food and transport allowances in the basic salary,” he added, .
The minimum wage to be declared by the board would be effective from November if it takes time to announce due to technical problems, he noted.
“We will take next course of action if the factory owners fail to place fresh proposal on October 31,” said Sirajul Islam Rony, workers’ representative to the board. “They can open factories during the hartal hours but cannot join the meeting. It’s a lame excuse.”
Earlier, BGMEA proposed an increase of Tk600 or 20% from the existing minimum wage of Tk3,000 per month. The workers rejected the offer while many took to the streets demanding a higher wage.
Leaders of RMG workers, however, proposed Tk8,114 as the minimum wage.
