Slow process of fixing minimum wages irks garment workers

The process to fix minimum wages for the readymade garment sector is going on at a slow pace, much to the annoyance of rights groups and workers, labour leaders said.

The government formed the minimum wage board four and a half months ago to review the monthly wages, but it held only one meeting so far.

The labour ministry formed the wage board on January 14 and issued a gazette notification in this regard on January 31.

In its first meeting on March 19, the board asked the representatives of both the factory owners and workers to place their proposals regarding minimum wages separately in the next meeting.

The next meeting was scheduled for April 25. But a day earlier, the board announced that the meeting was postponed due to 'unavoidable circumstances'.

And the board is yet to set the next date for the meeting.

As per Section 139 (2) of Bangladesh Labour Act, the wage board should submit its recommendation to the government within six months of its formation, said the labour leaders.

Quoting the labour law, they said the government, however, may extend the time on the request of the wage board.

The rights groups and the workers' representatives to the wage board blamed the factory owners for the delay in holding the meeting.

Fixing the date for the meeting at the owners' convenience is not fair, they said.

Other representatives to the wage board also admitted that the meeting was being delayed because the owners' representatives are engaged in business-related activities.

"I have requested the wage board chairman to fix a date for the next meeting. But it is being delayed because of busy schedule of owners' representatives," said Shamsunnahar Bhuiyan, a workers' representative.

Fixing the wages is not so easy and the process could not be completed in two or three meetings, she added.

It seems the wage board does not want to hold meetings without consent of factory owners' representatives, she said. "This is not acceptable."

The meeting should be held as per rules, she added.

If the board waits for owners' appointment, it would take a long time to fix the minimum wages, she said.

Shamsunnahar has held meetings with almost all the trade union federations involved in the readymade garment sector.

Most of them demanded Tk 16,000 in minimum wages, but two organisations say the amount should be a minimum of Tk 18,000, she said.

Contacted, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Md Siddiqur Rahman, an owners' representative, said the workers will receive wages as per new structure from December this year regardless of whenever the meetings take place.

On May 12, State Minister for Labour Mujibul Haque said the wage board would submit its recommendations to the government within next three months.

On the basis of the recommendations, the government will fix the minimum monthly wages for the garment sector considering all the situations, he added.

Currently, the minimum wage for an entry-level garment worker is Tk 5,300 fixed in 2013.

The minimum wages for a worker were Tk 3,000 in 2010, Tk 1,662.50 in 2006 and Tk 940 in 1994.

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