Amidst continuous worker unrest in the garments sector for the sixth consecutive day on Saturday, a government-formed body has decided to remove wage discrepancies in the new wage structure for the country’s apparel sector.
In an emergency meeting on Saturday, the government formed committee on Saturday decided, in principle, to make necessary adjustments to plug anomalies in different grades of the wage structure.
The first committee meeting earlier on Thursday ended inconclusively and the committee decided to hold a second meeting today (Sunday).
But with no let up in the continuous agitations of readymade garment workers, the committee members held an impromptu meeting on Saturday.
“It is an issue of utmost public importance as it (RMG) is the largest sector of the country. Worker representatives said there is deviation in Grade-3, Grade-4, and Grade-5 of the new wage structure for garment workers,” the Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) president, Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, told reporters after the meeting.
The new wage structure has been set through a process and if there are any anomalies, those would be addressed, said the business leader, also a former president of BGMEA.
The government has already taken account of both workers and garment owners views on the wage issue and he said: “I hope, the government will declare it by tomorrow (Sunday) and it will be addressed without any delay.”
Commerce Secretary Md Mofizul Islam told the Dhaka Tribune that they are talking to both parties and will be able to give a decision soon.
In addition, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) president Siddiqur Rahman said the government would take its decision after discussing the workers’ demands with the owners’ representative.
He also urged the workers to join work, placing trust in the committee, as it has taken the responsibility to resolve the issue.
Meanwhile, the workers’ representative present in the meeting also said that the owners acknowledged existing problems in the pay structure and they also reiterated their demands for a raise in basic wages.
“Workers expect the discrepancy will be removed. We have placed it to the meeting that agreed to fix the problem,” Garments Trade Union Centre president Montu Ghosh told reporters after the meeting.
On January 7, the government formed a 10-member committee to resolve the crisis over the discrimination of wages in different grades in the new pay structure for apparel workers, amid unrest in the industry.
Commerce Secretary Md Mofizul Islam, Labor and Employment Secretary Afroza Khan, former BGMEA president and Member of Parliament Abdus Salam Murshedy, president of the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, Nazma Akter, and president of the Bangladesh National Garment Workers Employees League, Sirajul Islam Rony, were present in the meeting.
On September 13 last year, the government set Tk8,000 as the minimum monthly wage, with Tk4,100 as basic salary, for the country’s apparel workers. The new wage structure is being implemented from December.
