Govt forms wage board for RMG workers

The government has formed the minimum wage board to review wages of the country's readymade garment (RMG) workers.

In this connection, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, through a circular on Sunday, announced appointment of the representatives of the RMG sector owners and workers for the board.

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) former president Md Siddiqur Rahman and Bangladesh National Garment Workers Employees League president Sirajul Islam Rony have been appointed the owners' and workers' representatives respectively, according to the circular.

The wage board has four permanent members, headed by senior district judge Liaquat Ali Molla.

Other permanent members of the board are: Bangladesh Employers' Federation representative Moksud Belal Siddiqui, workers' representative and Jatiya Shramik League leader Sultan Ahmed, and independent member and Dhaka University Professor Md Kamal Uddin.

The last minimum wage was reviewed in 2018 and set at Tk 8,000 for an entry-level worker with Tk 4,100 as basic pay, Tk 2,050 as house rent, Tk 600 as medical allowance, Tk 350 as transport allowance, and Tk 900 as food allowance.

Labour leaders are now demanding Tk 23,000 as minimum wage with 65 per cent basic payment.

Labour organisations are demanding hike in wages, ranging from Tk 20,000 to Tk 25,000 as minimum monthly wage for entry-level workers, taking high inflation into consideration.

They are also demanding 65 per cent hike of the basic pay for the 7th grade, the lowest grade in the wage structure of the garment workers, saying the government had announced minimum wages for the RMG workers four times since 2006, but unfortunately basic wages decreased every time in the name of increasing allowances.

RMG is the largest foreign currency earning sector that fetched US$42.61 billion in the last fiscal year, which was about 82 per cent of the total $52.08 billion export earning, according to official data.

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