Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) expects the wage board formed to set minimum wage for garment workers will declare the minimum wage by November.
“We, the apparel makers hope the wage board will declare a rational and affordable new minimum wage for the workers by November,” said SM Mannan Kochi, BGMEA acting president at a press briefing at his office on Tuesday.
The BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMA jointly organised the press conference given the recent unrest in the country’s RMG sector.
Kochi said, following the meeting with the Minister for Home Affairs, Shamsul Huq Tuku and Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan, we have decided to open factories, pay bonus and salary before the Eid. We have also urged the wage board to declare the minimum wage by November.
Commenting on the proposed minimum wage by the BGMEA, Kochi told the media: “We have proposed Tk3,600 as the minimum wage, considering the inflation adjustment and industries capacity while the workers’ representative has proposed Tk8,114. The final wage would be fixed by the board.”
He also urged the workers to join their workplaces, show patience, and rely on the wage board.
Fixing the wage is a continuous process, and the next meeting of the wage board will be held on October 21, the BGMEA acting president said.
“The country’s RMG sector is passing through a crucial time, while a vested interest group are creating anarchy to destabilise the sector. It is part of a both international and local conspiracy. If this anarchy continues, many owners would not be able to pay salaries and bonuses before Eid-ul-Azha,” he said.
Kochi claimed while the price in the global market is falling continuously, the domestic production cost has increased by 13%. It would only make the task of meeting the workers’ demand only for the owners.
Meanwhile, commenting on a recent report by the BBC, Kochi said, the BGMEA will investigate the allegation and would take punitive action against the factory, if found guilty.
He said: “We will invite the BBC to carry out inspection in our RMG factories, but they should be cautious in reporting as well.”
M Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, former BGMEA president said a vested quarter are engaged in destroying the country’s RMG sector, and we should investigate it.
“Vandalism is not a solution. Its (garment) a national industry and politics should not be involved in it,” he said.
BGMEA Vice-president Shahidullah Azim and Riaz Bin Mahmood, AKM Selim Osman, president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), President of Bangladesh Textiles Mills Association (BTMA), Jahangir Alamin, former BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy, M Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, BGMEA former vice-president M Siddiqur Rahman and BGMEA directors were present among others at the press conference.
