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Labour leaders at a meeting have demanded of the government to review the proposed Tk 8000 minimum monthly wage for entry level garment workers.
They also criticised the holding of the Tripartite Consultative Council (TCC) meeting after a gap of more than a year. The TCC on the readymade garment (RMG) sector was supposed to meet at least on three occasions in a year.
The observations came at the fourth meeting of the TCC held on Wednesday at labour ministry headed by its secretary Afroza Khan.
Syed Ahmed, additional secretary at labour ministry, ANM Saifuddin, director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association, among others, were present in the meeting.
The government last year formed the 23-member TCC to address labour related issues that sometimes stimulate volatility in the labour-intensive RMG sector, through dialogue.
The minimum monthly wage for entry level garment workers has been fixed at Tk 8000 that included a basic pay of Tk 4100.
"We requested the government to increase the basic payment as workers receive their overtime, festival allowance and other benefits based on the basic segment of their salary," Nazma Akter, president of Sommilito Garments Sromik Federation told the FE after the meeting.
Workers might get agitated if they find only Tk 4100 as their basic pay. The current basic amount is almost same after the annual five per cent increment, Gias Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Industrial Bangladesh Council said.
"We don't accept Tk 8000 as minimum monthly wage while owners are not accepting our demands of Tk 16,000. We request for fixing the amount to an acceptable level," he added.
Labour leaders also demanded fixation of wages for other grades as soon as possible.
The meeting also discussed the Ashulia labour unrest issues especially the development related with the case and resolve the issue of a Chattogram-based garment factory, meeting sources said.
The proposed amendments to the labour law including maternity benefit were also discussed, they added.