Wage Board meets today, workers to propose more than 30,000 taka

At the second meeting of the Minimum Wage Board today, Monday, the representative of the readymade garment workers will present a preliminary wage proposal. Meanwhile, after the board's first meeting, the labour unrest in Savar-Ashulia and Gazipur has improved, although yesterday, Sunday, the authorities declared holidays at 38 factories in Savar-Ashulia and Gazipur because their workers did not work.

It is learnt that the board's second meeting will be held today at 11am at Segunbagicha in Dhaka, chaired by Minimum Wage Board chairman Syed Azad Subhani. Representatives of the owners and the workers will attend today's meeting, and each side will be accompanied by two experts for the discussions, as the chairman permitted at the first meeting last Wednesday.

Garment workers took to the streets last month demanding a wage increase. The government then formed the Wage Board on 1 November to re-fix the wages of garment workers.

The board's neutral member is Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed of Dhaka University. The owners' representative is ABM Samsuddin, a director of the BGMEA, and the workers' representative is Babul Akhtar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF). The workers' permanent member is Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, and the owners' permanent representative is Asif Ayub, joint secretary general of the Bangladesh Employers Federation.

Asked about it, Babul Akhtar told Prothom Alo last night, 'Over the past few days we have discussed the wage proposal with leaders of 12 alliances of labour leaders, 60 federations and trade union leaders active at factory level. We will give the preliminary wage proposal tomorrow (Monday) and the detailed proposal later.' Asked how much the proposed minimum wage would be, he said it would be more than 30,000 taka.

When contacted, the owners' representative ABM Samsuddin did not answer his phone.

BGMEA president Mahmud Hasan Khan told Prothom Alo, 'We are not sure whether we will give a proposal at the Wage Board meeting tomorrow (Monday). We have met the owners of the factories that could not be opened. Since the protests have decreased compared to last week, the owners want to run the factories.'

Most workers in Savar-Ashulia joined work peacefully yesterday. But workers at a few factories came in the morning and then stopped work demanding a wage increase. The authorities declared holidays at 30 such factories.

Meanwhile, some workers took positions on the Abdullahpur-Bypass road at around 10:30 in the morning. Police later persuaded them to leave the road.

BGMEA sources said there was no work at Ayesha Clothing, Reza Fashions, Fashion Plus, Envoy Fashion and Garments, Sterling Creation, Rose Dress, Bando Design, Sterling Apparels and Madler Apparels in Savar-Ashulia.

Asked about it, Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, told Prothom Alo that workers worked at the factories in Savar and Ashulia, while workers at some factories sat down after stopping work. Altogether, the authorities declared holidays at 30 factories.

On the other hand, most workers in Gazipur joined work yesterday morning. At Montex Fabrics of the Mondol Group in the Noyapara area of Konabari police station, workers joined in the morning but did not return to work after the lunch break. They then demonstrated demanding a wage increase.

At one stage, the workers of that factory called on workers of nearby factories to join their movement. There were protests and incidents of brick-throwing. Considering the situation, the authorities declared holidays at at least eight nearby factories, including Kaiser Knitwear, Tasnia Fabrics, Multifabs Limited and Islam Knitwears.

Members of the industrial police, the local police and the BGB reached the scene on hearing of the protests. They urged the workers to return to work or go home. But the workers did not respond to their call and threw brickbats at the law enforcers. Police later dispersed the workers by firing tear gas and sound grenades.

Meanwhile, workers of a factory in the Chandra Palli Bidyut area of Kaliakair upazila demonstrated demanding a pay increase, and the authorities declared a holiday at the factory for Sunday. Workers of several factories in the Kashimpur area also demonstrated, and holidays were declared at several factories there to keep the situation normal.

After the workers' preliminary proposal at today's meeting, the owners' position will also become clear. But it is still not certain whether the owners will give a proposal today.