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Minimum monthly wage for garment workers finally stays unchanged at Tk 12,500 despite disputes and violent agitations for a further hike matching with high inflation.
The government-formed wage board for the main export industry of Bangladesh Sunday signed and sealed the earlier-declared award of the pay, officials said.
In a final moderation in the wage structures for readymade garment workers the set grades have been trimmed. Now the pay grades stand at four with the diminishing of top two and merger of grade four with grade three. The 2018 structure had seven grades.
"The total number of pay grades has been reduced to four and the wages have slightly been raised in three upper grades from the proposed ones," Minimum Wage Board chairman Liaquet Ali Molla said.
He was speaking after the wage board's seventh meeting held on the day at labour ministry in the secretariat.
Earlier on November 11, the ministry of labour and employment issued a gazette notification announcing Tk 12,500 as minimum monthly wage for garment workers as recommended by the wage board.
A 56-percent raise has been made for an entry-level garment worker under grade five from Tk 8000 (grade seven) set in 2018.
The ministry also sought opinions, objections or recommendations from stakeholders or individuals, if any, within 14 days of publication of the gazette notification. The timeline ended last Friday.
Mr Mollah said they proposed five grades in a reduction from the existing seven by abolishing two to grades while Sunday's meeting finalised four.
To start with, an entry-level garment worker under grade four will get Tk 12,500.
Grade four has been merged with grade three and the final pay would be Tk 13,550 which was previously proposed Tk 13,025, he noted.
"Similarly, workers under grade two will receive Tk14,273 from the proposed Tk 14,150 and grade one Tk15,035 from Tk14,750 respectively," Mr Mollah said.
Siddiqur Rahman, the owners' representative, and Sirajul Islam Rony, the labour representative on the wage board, were among others present at the meeting.
Meantime, a labour coalition styled Garment Sramik Andolan for Increasing Wages of Workers gathered in front of the National Press Club the same day and renewed their demand for raising to Tk 25,000 the minimum monthly wage for an entrant.
The platform also demanded release of all arrested workers, including Babul Hossain, general secretary of Garment Sramik Sanghati, and withdrawal of all cases related to the recent flare-ups of labour unrest. They also sought punitive action against those responsible for death of four workers.
Since October 23, the sector had witnessed more than two-week-long wage protests on demand for pay hike to Tk 23,000 through rejecting the government-announced Tk 12,500 on November 07.
At least four garment workers lost their lives while hundreds were injured and cases implicating thousands were filled, a hundred arrested and jailed in connection with the violence.