Female labourers face wage discrimination in Rangpur

Sayed Mofidul Babu | Published: March 07, 2018 19:56:08

RANGPUR, Mar 07: The miseries of the female labourers across the district know no bounds as they are paid much less wage than the male labourers.
The female labourers of the region are facing wage discrimination everywhere including brick kilns, factories, crop fields, husking mills, restaurants, tobacco processing centres, hotels and construction sites, sources alleged.
Mariam, 35, a farm labourer from Thakurdas village of Kawnia upazila told The Financial Express that they have to work for a lesser wage, otherwise the landowner will not agree to give them job opportunity. So there is no alternatives for them, she further said.
Female labourers get Tk 100 to Tk 120 per day for working in crop fields while their male counterparts get Tk 200 to Tk 220 for the same type of work, she added.
Some female labourers said working for lower wages is a matter of survival in rural areas. If they avoid work for few days in order to negotiate about wages, their family will pass those days half-fed or unfed. Working as day labourer is indispensable for many extreme poor women to arrange family meals. "The financial condition of the people in the country is improving but the fate of female workers is yet to be changed", they added.
Asma Begum (40), a construction worker of Mahiganj area in Rangpur city told FE though she gets Tk 280 to 300 per day, but the male labourers get Tk 350 to Tk 400 for the same amount of work.
Asma, the lone bread earner of her five member family said she knows that she is being deprived of fair wage. But she doesn't have alternative option, she added.
Nurul Mia, a landowner at Char Mahipur under Gangachhara upazila said wage difference also depends upon the capability of the workers. He said a woman can carry less heavy than a man. So they cannot render the same physical labour as males. For this reason female labourers get lower wages than the male labourers.
President of the Rangpur divisional unit of Samaj Paribartan O Unnayan Forum, SM Piyal said women are contributing immensely in the agricultural and some other sectors. But they suffer from inequity in terms of wages.
Necessary steps should be taken to prevent disparity against women, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to the economy of the country, he added.
sayedmofidulbabu@gmail.com