No job pact for 73pc RMG workers in Dhaka, Gazipur

Nearly 73 per cent of the surveyed ready-made garment (RMG) workers in Dhaka and Gazipur did not get any job contract, while the rate is 59 per cent for the workers in Chittagong and Narayanganj, according to a latest survey.
However, the percentage in terms of getting identity card is higher, as 72.50 per cent respondents in Dhaka and Gazipur and 84 per cent in Chittagong and Narayanganj reported that they had ID card, it revealed.
The survey was conducted on a total of 770 workers, 385 each from Dhaka-Gazipur belt and Chittagong-Narayanganj belt.
Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) with funding from European Union (EU) in partnership with Terre des Hommes (TDH) Italia conducted the survey, titled "Garments' Workers and Rights: A situation analysis of Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chittagong".
Its findings were shared at a programme in the city on Wednesday. State minister for labour Mujibul Haque was the chief guest in it.
Executive director of MJF Shaheen Anam, workers' representative at the minimum wage board for garment sector Shamsunnahar Bhuiyan, and executive director of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, among others, were also present.
The state minister said the new minimum monthly wage for the garment sector workers will be announced before the next election.
He, however, opined that it will take some time to properly implement the wage, and called on global buyers for increasing prices of the locally-made apparel items.
In the survey, more than 95 per cent of the respondents in the four industrial belts reported that they receive their wages on a monthly basis.
Majority of them in Dhaka and Gazipur, 52.07 per cent, opined that they do not get wages by the seventh of each month. The situation is better in Chittagong and Narayanganj, as 64 per cent mentioned that they get wages by the seventh of each month.
Some 29.70 per cent RMG workers in Dhaka-Gazipur and about 41 per cent in Chittagong-Narayanganj reported that they often face deduction in salary for various reasons, according to the survey findings.
"Often the workers even do not know or understand why this salary cut is made in the first place or on what basis," it added.
The survey also revealed an appalling picture related to knowledge about the workers' legal rights, as majority of them in all the four areas reportedly are not aware of the labour law.
The survey recommended that the workers need to know about the existing provisions of the labour law, so that they become more aware of their rights, protection and benefits.
Serious misconception exists among the workers when it comes to maternity leave, as often they are not aware of the provisions related to maternity leave and benefits, it noted.
The survey also recommended a close monitoring system for the registration process of trade unions and federations, as labour unionists voice that there is no standard practice in this regard. The left-oriented labour unions and federations often face difficulties in getting registration of trade unions.

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