Garment workers’ wage board: No step to call meeting in 3 days
The government formed a minimum wage board last Sunday to increase wages for workers in the ready-made garment (RMG) industry.
Two days have already passed, but no initiative has been taken to arrange the first meeting of the wage board.
Meanwhile, protests and clashes between workers and police continued today, Tuesday, in Gazipur, Savar-Ashulia and Mirpur.
The Ministry of Labour reconstituted the minimum wage board through a notification on Sunday.
Dhaka University Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed was appointed as the independent member of the board, while Asif Ayub, joint secretary general of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, and Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, were appointed as the permanent members representing the owners and workers, respectively.
Another gazette was issued on the same day, appointing ABM Shamsuddin, a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), as the representative of the owners and Babul Akhtar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF), as the representative of the workers on the minimum wage board formed for the RMG industry.
The six-member wage board will work for the RMG industry with Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman as its chairman.
Asked when the first meeting of the wage board would be held, its chairman, Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman, told Prothom Alo on Tuesday afternoon, “We will hold a meeting of the wage board soon. We are ready to hold the meeting.”
Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman said the first meeting of the previous wage board was held 45 days after the notification was issued. The entire process was completed in six to seven months. This time, however, it would not be the same. The government is sincere about completing the process of determining wages within a short time.
The two representatives of the workers on the wage board, Anwar Hossain and Babul Akhtar, held a press conference at the Shram Bhaban yesterday, Monday, urging that a meeting of the wage board be called as soon as possible. They said they would write to the board chairman in this regard.
At the press conference, Babul Akhtar said, “The latest minimum wage structure came into effect in December 2023. Accordingly, a new wage structure is due next December. We will work in such a way that workers receive their wages in January. There is no reason for any delay on our part. If necessary, we will hold meetings of the wage board consecutively. We have no objection to holding meetings throughout the night. We will make no compromise in ensuring workers' rightful wages.”
The last minimum wage board for the RMG industry was formed in 2023. The wage structure was legally required to come into effect on 1 December that year. On 9 April, the Ministry of Labour appointed representatives of the owners and workers to the wage board. The board held six meetings and recommended a minimum wage of Tk 12,500 in the first week of November. The government issued the final notification in December.
The government first formed a minimum wage board for RMG workers in 1994. That board set the minimum wage at Tk 930. In 2006, it was increased to Tk 1,662.50. The 2010 wage board set the minimum wage for workers at Tk 3,000. The 2013 wage board determined the minimum wage at Tk 5,300. The 2018 wage board finalised the minimum wage for garment workers at Tk 8,000.