RMG workers deserve higher minimum wage

Syed Jamaluddin Garment workers were recently engaged in siege and arson. Besides the capital and adjoining areas, the unrest spread to the outlying areas also. Agitating garment workers came out on the streets in large numbers, demanding minimum wages at Tk 8,000. Police used lathi-charge, lobbed tear gas shells and opened fire. Law-enforcement agencies came into clashes with the garment workers. A large number of garment factories remained closed because of the unrest in the industry. Entrepreneurs have complained that there are both local and foreign conspiracies to destroy the otherwise booming garment sector. The Home Minister has alleged that the Jamaat-e-Islami and some other reactionary groups are behind the recent unrest in readymade garment (RMG) sector. Some foreign nationals employed in garment sector are also alleged to be involved. Reports of unrest have been published in local and foreign press. These reports are reportedly destabilising this sector. Although Bangladesh is in second position in garment export globally, the workers in this country get the lowest wages. While in China, wage is around Tk 17,000 per worker per month, it is only Tk 3,600 in Bangladesh. A Vietnamese worker gets 109 dollars while in Cambodia the minimum wage is 70 dollars, in Thailand 221 dollars, in the Phillipines 175 dollars , in Indonesia 114 dollars and in India 70 dollars. A Bangladeshi garment worker gets the lowest wage compared to his/her counterpart in other sectors of the economy. The wage of a building worker is Tk 9,882. A tannery worker gets Tk 9,300. A worker in oil mill gets Tk 7,420. A transport worker gets Tk 6,300. A cold storage worker's salary is Tk 6,050. In the steel mills, it is Tk 6,100. But a garment worker's salary has been fixed at Tk 3,000 per month. The Bangladesh garment industry has expanded many folds. But wage increase has not been commensurate with such an expansion. Garment makers say they are counting losses due to halt in production amid the on-going labour unrest. It is difficult to estimate the total loss in the sector due to such labour unrest. The government and the employers must come up with a proposal that meets the aspirations of the agitating workers. The Home Minister has said that the enhanced wages would be announced in late November. It is possible to advance this timing. Troubled by labour unrest, the garment sector is moving to an uncertain future. Global clothing retailers have warned of grave impacts if the current unrest continues and production remains halted for long. Bangladesh is already passing through a restive political phase. International buyers may not come up with new orders. Negotiations between the garment factory owners and the workers' representatives have failed to resolve the burning issue. The RMG factory owners have agreed to raise the minimum wage from Tk 3000 Tk 3600. But the workers are demanding Tk 8,000 plus. But nobody is happy about the offer of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). The civil society think-tank CPD, however, has recommended Tk 6,560 as the minimum wage for an entry level worker in the country's apparel sector. There is a huge gap between the monthly salary required and the existing wage in the RMG sector. The CPD came up with the recommendation after conducting a survey. The Wage Board, formed in this connection, should consider the minimum wage as an income that meets the basic needs of workers and their families. Labour leaders, parliamentarians and independent experts all backed the CPD recommendation. The BGMEA has described the local and international media reports on minimum wages and working hours as a conspiracy against the highest export-earner of the country. Motivated, false and misleading reports are being published, it alleged. Some local and international quarters are probably behind the unrest. The government and intelligence agencies should look into the matter. The RMG exporters want an amicable solution to the crisis; otherwise buyers may turn away from Bangladesh. But a wage hike by Tk 600 would be too little for workers. The issue has to be settled in a way that ensures a win-win situation for both the workers and the owners. Apart from the workers' demand for a wage hike, the owners are under pressure from buyers to ensure compliance in their factories, which need investment. All factories do not have the same capacity and many of them can not afford the same wage. In June, the Labour and Employment Ministry set up a committee with factory owners, workers and government representatives to review wages in the garment sector. The report of the committee has to be finalised immediately for fixing the wage. The New York Times has urged the police and the garment workers in Bangladesh to show restraint in the wake of escalation of violence over the demand for wage hike in the garment industry. The paper said that all the stakeholders including the western retailers have a responsibility for restoration of industrial peace, which Bangladesh is unlikely to achieve without higher wages. It advised the government to stop the use of tear gas and rubber bullets on mostly unarmed protestors. The garment industry is the pride of Bangladesh, which is the second largest garment exporter after China. This position has to be maintained. Bangladesh exported apparel items worth more than $20 billion in fiscal 2012/13.The sector employs about four million workers and 80 per cent of them are women, mostly from rural areas. The CPD recommendation would be a good basis for fixing minimum wage for garment workers. The writer is an economist and columnist. [email protected]