The ongoing apparel workers’ agitation in Bangladesh following some alleged discrepancies in the wage structure of the new minimum wage board has led the Bangladesh Government to look into the workers’ demands and hike wage in six grades while leaving the minimum monthly pay unchanged at Taka 8,000.
The decision to this end was taken after a tripartite meeting involving the stakeholders in capital Dhaka recently.
“The revised wage board is effective from Dec 1, 2018 and will be adjusted from February this year,” maintained Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi after the meeting while underlining that the gazette on the revised wage board will be published within a week.
“Most of the workers do not want vandalism. They want to work. I hope they will join work peacefully,” said Munshi, who is also a former President of the apex garment exporters’ body Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).
It may be mentioned here that the Government on January 9 formed a tripartite committee headed by Labour and Employment Secretary Afroza Khan to review the wage board after days of worker unrest. Commerce Secretary Md Mofizul Islam, five workers’ representatives and as many number of factory owners are reportedly the members of this committee.
“We were told to discuss the grades three, four and five after the Jan 10 meeting…Today, in the discussion with both the owners and workers, a question was raised as to why we should drop grade six from the revision. That’s why we’ve readjusted six grades,” reportedly maintained the Commerce Minister.
