FBCCI wants ‘fair’ RMG pay

The Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry has called for formulating a ‘fair’ salary structure for the garment industry to ensure a sustainable growth in the main export-earning sector.

The apex business body issued a statement on Sunday making the call.

“The FBCCI supports a reasonable salary structure for the welfare of the workers and for the garment industry as well. Because the workers are the craftsmen,” said the statement.

The minimum wage for a worker was raised to Tk 3,000 from Tk 1,650 in 2010. It has remained the same since then, triggering violent protests from workers often and criticism by national and international rights bodies for the pay which they call ‘unliveable.’

The protests and criticism led to constitution of a wage board by the government in May. The owners’ paltorm, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, proposed only a Tk 600 salary hike against the workers demand of fixing a minimum wage of Tk 8000 in the new wage board.

The workers have sought the Prime Minister’s intervention in settling the huge differences between the views of garment owners and workers regarding salary. The meetings organised by the government-formed wage board to reach a consensus with both the sides, however, have turned futile.

The FBCCI statement came in the wake of protests by workers in several places, including Savar, Gazipur and Narayanganj, over the last few days to press for a salary that can help them to meet daily expenses against a double-digit inflation.

“The FBCCI expects the government will soon strike a negotiation regarding the salary structure involving all stakeholders, including BGMEA and workers’ leaders,” said the FBCCI statement.

The organisation expressed its concerns over the recent unrest marked by arson and vandalism in the industry. It urged the government to take measures to het things back to normal and keep the sector stable.

The statement has called the periodic unrests a crisis as the $20 billion industry struggles to cope with the situation.

“Despite global recession and many internal limitations, the government and the non-government sectors are continuously trying to get over the difficulties, to keep up the growth of Bangladesh’s export, specially the growth in garment export, attracting new investments, ensuring workers’ welfare by increasing their pay and tackling difficulties related to the suspension of GSP,” read the statement.

Workplace safety and workers wage have been under the global media spotlight since the accidents that came one after another in Savar. One of the accidents was a fire in Tajreen Fashions factory burned over 100 workers alive while the other one is the world’s worst factory accident in Rana Plaza that killed 1129 workers this year.

The accidents led to widespread international criticism of Bangladeshi garment sector in terms of workplace safety and workers’ rights which eventually led to suspension of GSP facilities by the US. Though the garment products never enjoyed the GSP privileges, it was considered a blow to the reputation of the world’s second largest apparel manufacturer.

The current unrest over salary is worrying the business leaders because it coincides with the desperation of the government and the businesses to regain the GSP facility, observed the statement.

“Some miscreants are carrying out violent activities by cashing in on the unrest (workers’ unrest over pay). That’s why the owners are forced to close their factories which we do not expect at all.”

The FBCCI has also sought home, labour and commerce ministries assistance to this end