RMG workers deserve better

For the last couple of weeks, unrest in the country's readymade garments (RMG) industry has cast a shadow on the already weakened economic situation. Industry workers turned violent at one stage of their continuous protests over the delay in announcing the new minimum wage. As a few factories in Ashulia and Gazipur also came under attack and vandalised, many owners suspended production at their units to avoid further damage.

Factory owners, as usual, blamed the vested quarter for instigating the workers to stage violent protests which disrupted commercial operations in many units. Industry leaders also alleged that the vested quarters took advantage of the current political agitation.

A section of industry leaders is mainly responsible for the escalation of unrest. They, as representatives of the RMG owners and exporters, initially proposed Tk 10,400 as the revised minimum wage from Tk 8,000, which is the current minimum wage and fixed in 2018. They offered a 30 per cent hike after five years, which means the annual hike is six per cent only. Thus, the annual rate of wage hikes is well below the country's average annual inflation rate.

The proposal of a negligible hike in the minimum wage came as a big shock to workers, and they came down on the streets to protest. Earlier, workers' unions and rights bodies proposed at least Tk 20,000 as the monthly minimum wage. The industry leaders utterly rejected the demand and finally proposed a rate that failed to adjust the inflation.

As the protest continued, the wage board fixed Tk 12,500 as the new minimum wage for RMG workers with effect from the next month. The board also reduced the current seven tiers of the wage structure to five. The announcement was made on Tuesday last, which failed to appease protesting workers as it did not adequately adjust inflation.  

The annual average inflation rate was 5.56 per cent in the fiscal year 2020-21 (FY21) and 6.15 per cent in FY22 which jumped to 9.02 per cent in FY23, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. The new rate is a minimal hike, though it is an increase of 56.25 per cent from the existing fixed rate five years back. Some leaders of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), however, have already said that it would be difficult to implement the new wage structure for them. Others claimed that if the government officials stopped extracting bribe from the RMG exporters, they would be able to hike wages at a much higher level.

It seems that old tricks are at work to keep workers' wages as low as possible. This is reflected in the delay in submitting the proposal on behalf of the owners. Industry insiders, however, confirmed that a good number of factory owners are ready to pay reasonable wages considering the sharp rise in living costs and fall in real income of workers. They are mostly barred from doing so by a section of industry leaders politically powerful and unwilling to adjust wages to match inflation. 

Though various workers' organisations rejected the new wage structure and vowed to continue protesting, it will be difficult for them to do so. A worker died when workers clashed with the police a day after the announcement of the new wage. To stop protests and violence, law enforcement agencies have been deployed. Some workers will face legal action, and some will lose their jobs as punishment for joining protests. The situation is likely to be brought under control soon. But the nagging question if the new minimum wage is enough for workers' survival will continue to trouble minds.

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