Sweater factory owners and labour leaders agreed on framing a guideline for workers to resolve the prevailing dispute over payment, grades of workers and other related benefits, sources said Tuesday.
The consensus came in the first meeting of the 12-member committee formed following the recent agitation of workers over the issues.
Representatives of the government, the sweater factory owners and the labour leaders were present in the meeting held in the city.
Earlier this month the ministry of labour formed the committee, as the sweater factory workers agitated demanding an increase in the piece rate in line with the new wage structure announced for garment workers. The sweater factory workers were outside the purview of the wage structure.
Mr Faizur Rahman, joint secretary of the labour ministry and also head of the committee, said during the meeting they heard from both the groups.
"We have formed a working group that will visit some sweater factories and talk to the workers and factory authorities to gather details of the problematic issues," he told the FE.
The group would submit their report within a month, he said adding that the committee then would prepare the guideline for the sector.
Terming the job of fixing the piece rate 'complicated' Khandoker Rafiqul Islam, director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said: "We also want to solve the crisis and bring the sector under a framework through discussion."
Lima Ferdous, President of Garments Sramik Karmachari League, said fixation of the piece rate and grades of sweater factory workers was one of the major problems.
Usually, a sweater factory owner was needed to announce the rate of a sweater within seven to ten days, she said. But most of the factory owners were announcing the rate just one or two days before the payment or even on the day of payment, she added.
Moreover, the workers were not being paid in accordance with the grades commensurate with their experience during an off-season, alleged Ms Lima, also a member of the committee. About 90 per cent of the factories paid a worker about Tk 4,075 under the grade-six, she said.
How a worker, who could earn Tk 20,000 to 25,000 a month, could lead his life with the money paid under the grade six, she posed a question.
Md Hatem, vice president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), said all the issues would be discussed and the guideline would be framed by encompassing all the issues.
There were some guidelines, like that on the weekly production target, that the manufacturers were following, he said. If a worker could produce 2,000 pieces a week, he would get 10 per cent bonus on his production, he explained.
He said fixation of the rate was difficult as designs were varying from product to product. Either they had to work based on the piece rate or under the grades, he suggested.
Regarding overtime, he said the sweater factory workers were not entitled to the benefits as stipulated in the labour law.
"If they demand a raise in their basic pay, they have to come under a wage structure," he said casting his doubt that the workers would agree to come under such a structure, as they were earning much more when enough jobs were available for them.
According to the sector insiders, there are about 700 to 800 sweater factories in the country.
Body agrees on guideline for sweater factory workers
Monira Munni | Published: January 29, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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