Don’t harass garment workers for wage protests, says Shajahan Khan

Former shipping minister Shajahan Khan has urged the government to protect garment workers from harassment over their protests for increased minimum wages.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 17 Jan 2019, 12:58 PM
Updated : 17 Jan 2019, 12:58 PM

The workers were discontent because the minimum wage structure set in 2018 was not in line with current market rates, said Khan.

The former minister spoke in a news conference of the Garment Workers Coordination Council in Dhaka’s Segunbagicha on Thursday.

“Innocent workers shouldn’t be harassed and any worker who has been arrested during the recent protests should be released immediately,” said Shajahan.

“In many cases, the workers’ annual income under the pay scale that was set for them would have been far less than what they’ve earned in the last five years. Many believe this to be a reason for the recent unrest among garment workers.”

The minimum wage structure was determined without taking the workers’ opinions into consideration, Khan added.

“We have noticed that a group with vested interests has been creating unrest among workers. This led them to take to the streets in protest, which has hampered production and development throughout the industry,” Khan said.

“We are requesting all garment workers to raise any concerns they have with the proper authorities either verbally or in writing. We also urge garment factory owners to empathise with workers and not harass them.”

The Awami League leader also called on the different stakeholders in the garment industry to resolve any issue in future through discussions rather than using force.

The government on Nov 25 last year gazetted the new wage structure for garment workers setting Tk 8,000 as the minimum monthly pay.  It ordered the garment factories to implement the new structure from Dec 1.

However, on Jan 6, garment workers in Dhaka and its surrounding areas took to the streets in protest, alleging that the salaries of mid-level workers decreased under the government’s new wage board.

A 12-member committee was set up by the government to review the wage structure in light of the protests on Jan 9. And on Jan 13, the government announced a revised wage structure for garment workers, increasing wages in six grades.