Garment workers' wages: workers' side to propose over Tk 30,000 at board meeting today

The second meeting of the Minimum Wage Board to re-fix the minimum wage of readymade garment workers will be held today, Monday (9 November). The workers' side will present its preliminary wage proposal at the meeting.

The board's second meeting will be held at 11 am today at Segunbagicha in Dhaka. It will be chaired by board chairman Syed Azad Subhani. Representatives of both the owners' and the workers' sides will take part.

Readymade garment workers have been agitating since last month demanding a wage hike. In response to their demand, the government formed the board on 1 November to re-fix the workers' minimum wage.

After the board's first meeting, the labour unrest in Savar-Ashulia and Gazipur improved somewhat. But on Sunday, workers at 38 factories in these areas did not join work, and the authorities declared holidays at the factories.

Dhaka University professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed is on the board as a neutral member. BGMEA director A B M Samsuddin represents the owners' side. The workers' side is represented by Babul Akhtar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF).

Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Sramik Dal, is a permanent member from the workers' side, and Asif Ayub, joint secretary general of the Bangladesh Employers Federation, is the permanent representative of the owners' side. For ease of discussion, both sides may bring two experts each. The chairman granted this permission at the board's first meeting last Wednesday.

Workers' representative Babul Akhtar said last night that over the past few days, discussions were held with 12 alliances of labour leaders, 60 federations and active trade union leaders from various factories on preparing the wage proposal.

The preliminary wage proposal will be presented at the board meeting today, Monday. A detailed proposal will be submitted later. Asked how much minimum wage would be proposed, he said the proposed wage would be more than Tk 30,000.

BGMEA president Mahmud Hasan Khan said it is not yet certain whether the owners' side will present a proposal at the wage board meeting today. They have held meetings with the owners of factories that could not be opened. He also said that as workers' protests have eased compared with last week, owners want to keep the factories running.

On Sunday, most workers in Savar-Ashulia joined work peacefully. But at a few factories, workers turned up in the morning and then stopped work demanding a wage hike. Because of this, the authorities declared holidays at 30 factories.

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

According to BGMEA sources, no work took place at factories in Savar-Ashulia including Ayesha Clothing, Reza Fashions, Fashion Plus, Envoy Fashion and Garments, Sterling Creation, Rose Dress, Bando Design, Sterling Apparels and Madler Apparels.

Asked about it, Mohammad Mominul Islam Bhuiyan, superintendent of police of Ashulia Industrial Police-1, said workers worked at the factories in Savar and Ashulia, while workers at some factories sat without working. Altogether, the authorities declared holidays at 30 factories.

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

At one stage, the workers of that factory called on workers of nearby factories to join them in the 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.

On receiving news of the protest, members of the industrial police, thana police and BGB reached the spot. They tried to calm the situation by talking to the workers.

After the workers' side presents its preliminary proposal at today's meeting, the country's millions of garment workers are now waiting to see what wage is fixed.