Trade union leaders have urged the government to reconsider the minimum wage set for Bangladesh’s apparel workers with keeping a provision of 10% yearly increment.
Demanding reconsideration of the minimum monthly wage and a 10% yearly increment on basic salary, IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC) placed a memorandum to State Minister for Labour and Employment Md Mujibul Haque yesterday.
IndustriAll is a platform for global trade unions founded in Copenhagen in 2012. Nineteen trade union federations in Bangladesh are affiliated with the organization.
State Minister for Labour and Employment Md Mujibul Haque in press conference on September 13 announced the minimum wage for the RMG workers was is to be set at Tk8,000 a month.
The Minimum Wage Board for the garment workers has failed to meet the expectation of apparel workers and trade unions by setting Tk8,000 as minimum wage, said the memorandum.
On the other hand, in the announced wage structure, the board has increased the house rent and other allowances but lowered the basic pay compared to the previous amount, the memorandum added.
Lowering basic salary will deprive workers from retirement benefits, and they will also get less from doing overtime as the payment is calculated based on the basic salary, IBC said.
The basic salary of RMG workers is also half of that of state-run factory workers. Recently, the basic salary for state-run factory workers was increased to Tk8,300, while the Minimum Wage Board set basic salary for garment workers at Tk4,100.
“Considering the present living and other expenses, the IBC demands reconsideration of minimum wage of Tk8,000 and increasing yearly incremental by 10% instead of existing 5%,” ICB Secretary General Salauddin Shapon told the Dhaka Tribune.
He also urged the government to increase the wage of other grades proportionately to ensure a better life for the RMG workers.
According to the new wage structure, out of minimum wage of Tk8,000 a month, Tk4,100 has been set as basic pay, Tk2,500 as house rent, Tk600 as a medical allowance, Tk350 as transport allowance, and the remaining Tk900 as food allowance.
Currently, RMG workers get Tk5,300 as a monthly minimum, with entry-level employees receiving a basic salary of Tk3,000 and 5% yearly increments.
