RMG owners to propose minimum wage for workers
Sunday, 23 May 2010
FE Report
The garment owners are likely to propose minimum wages for entry level workers at the Minimum Wage Board meeting to be held tomorrow (Monday) in the city.
Minimum Wage Board is a government organ entrusted with fixing minimum wages for the garment workers and others. The board is comprised of the representatives of garment owners, workers and the government.
The ready-made garment (RMG) owners at a meeting Thursday were of the opinion of proposing the minimum wage between Tk 1,800 and Tk 2,200 a month against the existing minimum wage set at Tk 1662.50 in June, 2006.
Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, a BGMEA vice-president and representative in the Minimum Wage Board told the FE: "We've initially discussed the issue with the owners. But they are not in favour of a big jump in the wages."
The last meeting of the wage board was held on May 17 and ended inconclusively as the owners failed to propose any wages.
However, garment workers have been demanding minimum wage for them at Tk 5,000 a month.
Intelligence sources said that the minimum wage should be fixed at Tk 4,000 to avoid any unexpected incident in the garment sector.
Workers have been demonstrating on different garment premises for raising the wages for long.
Mr Shafiul said the industry is facing a tough time following the recent impact of the global recession. "We want to reach a consensus in this regard," he added.
Meanwhile Touhidur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Apparel Workers Federation, told the FE: "We want Tk 5,000 as minimum wage as the prices of essentials have increased manifold over the last four years."
He also said Tk 5,000 minimum wage would help achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set by the UN, by 2015.
The wage review process has been initiated after a parliamentary standing committee viewed that the increased cost of living had eroded the incomes of nearly 3.0 million workers in the country's largest manufacturing sector.
The garment owners are likely to propose minimum wages for entry level workers at the Minimum Wage Board meeting to be held tomorrow (Monday) in the city.
Minimum Wage Board is a government organ entrusted with fixing minimum wages for the garment workers and others. The board is comprised of the representatives of garment owners, workers and the government.
The ready-made garment (RMG) owners at a meeting Thursday were of the opinion of proposing the minimum wage between Tk 1,800 and Tk 2,200 a month against the existing minimum wage set at Tk 1662.50 in June, 2006.
Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin, a BGMEA vice-president and representative in the Minimum Wage Board told the FE: "We've initially discussed the issue with the owners. But they are not in favour of a big jump in the wages."
The last meeting of the wage board was held on May 17 and ended inconclusively as the owners failed to propose any wages.
However, garment workers have been demanding minimum wage for them at Tk 5,000 a month.
Intelligence sources said that the minimum wage should be fixed at Tk 4,000 to avoid any unexpected incident in the garment sector.
Workers have been demonstrating on different garment premises for raising the wages for long.
Mr Shafiul said the industry is facing a tough time following the recent impact of the global recession. "We want to reach a consensus in this regard," he added.
Meanwhile Touhidur Rahman, president of Bangladesh Apparel Workers Federation, told the FE: "We want Tk 5,000 as minimum wage as the prices of essentials have increased manifold over the last four years."
He also said Tk 5,000 minimum wage would help achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set by the UN, by 2015.
The wage review process has been initiated after a parliamentary standing committee viewed that the increased cost of living had eroded the incomes of nearly 3.0 million workers in the country's largest manufacturing sector.