Minimum RMG wage effective from Dec: Minister

The new minimum monthly wage for garment factory workers will be effective from December, Labour minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju has said on Thursday.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 14 Nov 2013, 09:06 AM
Updated : 14 Nov 2013, 09:18 AM

He told reporters after a meeting with workers' leaders that the minimum monthly wage has been fixed at Tk 5,300 following the recommendation of the government appointed wage board. A gazette notification in this regard would be issued after Nov 25.

"The news wage will be effective from December. The workers will get paid their January salary on the basis of the new pay-structure," the minister said.

He said that the wage board has kept provisions for increment of salary as well, to be calculated on 5 percent of the basic-pay of Tk 3,000.

On Wednesday, garment factory owners had agreed to the sum amid workers' unrest in Savar, Ashulia and Gazipur for the last few days for fast implementation of it.

In Bangladesh, the regulation for fixing minimum wage after every five years has never been followed.

On Jul 27, 2010, the workers' minimum wage was fixed at Tk 3,000.

The $20 billion industry has been accused of not properly following the wage board's recommendations.

Top importers of Bangladesh's garment products pressed the government to provide the workers with better safety and wage after last November's Tazreen Fashions fire killing over 110 workers and this year's Rana Plaza collapse killing over 1,100 people.

The European Union (EU), Bangladesh's largest importer of garment products, threatened to cancel the duty-free access of goods into its market.

After the Rana Plaza collapse, the US suspended Bangladesh's Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), a special trade privilege for some selected goods except garment.

In an apparent bid to pacify Western buyers, the government announced a wage board last June to revise the pay of the garment workers.

Headed by former District Judge Amulya Kumar Roy, the board had representatives of the owners and workers. Dhaka University Professor Kamaluddin Ahmed was included as a 'neutral' member.

The owners and workers were divided in their opinion on the issue. The workers demanded a Tk 8,000 minimum wage but the owners had been refusing to give anything more than Tk 4,200.

As the workers took to the streets, the government-appointed board prescribed a minimum Tk 5,300 wage on Nov 4.

Representatives of the owners had left the meeting that day.

Later, the BGMEA said they did not have financial strength to pay the proposed salary.

Several workers' bodies are still waging demonstrations demanding Tk 8,000 in minimum wage.