The Cabinet committee on garment industries has instructed the factory owners to pay the salary and other allowances to their workers within the first ten days of the month.
The suggestion came from a two- and -half-hour- long meeting held at the meeting room of the labor ministry on Sunday.
Emerging from the meeting, Mikail Shipar, secretary to the ministry of labour and employment, told journalists: “Those who will fail to make the payment, will face charges for violating labour law.”
As per the section 123 of chapter 10 of the Labour law, 2006, the wages of every worker shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh day after the last day of the wage period in respect of which the wages are payable.
If the employment of any worker is terminated by retirement or by the employer, whether by way of retrenchment, discharge, removal, dismissal or otherwise, the wages payable to him shall be paid before the expiry of the seventh working day from the day on which his employment is terminated.
All payment of wages shall be made on a working day.
Earlier, a minimum wage board for RMG workers was formed in spring 2010 and a new minimum wage, effective from November 2010, was defined in August. The wage board raised the minimum monthly pay for garment workers to Tk3, 000 from Tk1, 662.50.
Wages increased by 67% to 81%, depending on job category.
The first minimum wage board, constituted in 1994, fixed Tk940 as the minimum wage for garment workers. The second one, formed in 2006, set the minimum wage at Tk1, 662.50
The cabinet committee also recommended to form an apparel body to oversee the issues related with the RMG industry.
They suggested the departments of public work to form a body containing skilled engineers to scrutinize the constructions and other infrastructures of the sector.
Labor Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju presided over the meeting, where nine ministers and high officials of different ministries were present.
