Labour leaders of shrimp sector and rights activists Thursday demanded fixation of Tk 12,600 as monthly minimum wage for each shrimp and fish processing industry worker from Tk 2,645 with to uplift them from extreme poverty line.
They said workers have right to live with their family members maintaining the minimum standard. To ensure the living cost of their families the government should set Tk 12,600 as the monthly wage.
These demands surfaced at a discussion on re-setting the minimum wages of shrimp and fish processing industry at a city hotel.
Solidarity Center - Bangladesh and Social Activities for the Environment (SAFE) jointly organised the event. Manusher Jonno Foundation (MJF) and United States Agency for International Development financed it.
On the occasion state minister for labour and employment Mujibul Haque Chunnu said: "The owners and workers of shrimp sectors have to reach a consensus on the minimum wage, so that the workers can live with their family members and have adequate food calorie intake."
"We are still feudalist in mentality. Many people are very much interested in making windfall profit through business and building second home abroad. But they are not willing to pay workers properly," he said.
MJF executive director Shaheen Anam said the working environment in shrimp and fish processing industry has improved following movement for the last couple of years.
She said the rights activists had to face various threats while conducting their activities in the fish processing belt, mainly in Khulna region.
"When we raised our voice to protect labour rights of this sector, the owners alleged that we are trying to destroy the sector, which is completely wrong," she added.
Shrimp Labour Welfare Association general secretary Monira Sultana said the working environment in the shrimp sector has improved, but a good number of workers were forced to work in inhuman condition.
Demanding Tk 12,600 as the minimum wage for the shrimp sector workers the labour leader said the owners agreed to set the minimum wage equivalent to the RMG workers. But they should realise that the health risk of working in fish processing industry is much higher than the RMG sector.
Recently the government directed the minimum wage board to review the wage of workers in the shrimp and fish processing sector, which was last reviewed in 2009.
Md Golam Mostafa, former president of Bangladesh Frozen Foods Exporters Association (BFFEA), said: "We've agreed with the labour leaders and rights groups to increase the minimum wage, but needed guarantee of increasing productivity and removal of corruption."
"We are paying our workers higher than the existing minimum wage, and re-setting the minimum wage is not our concern. Wages are only two per cent of the total export earnings of the sector, while corruption is 10 per cent of the earnings," he added.
BFFEA vice-president M Khalilullah said if the government and labour leaders provide assurance to check corruption and increase shrimp production to utilize full capacity of the shrimp and fish processing units, the owners have no problem in giving Tk 15,000 as minimum wage.
"Now we are able to use only 15 to 18 per cent capacity of our units with the current production rate of shrimp and fishes," he added.
SAFE project coordinator Asaduzzaman, BFFEA labour compliant convenor Humayun Kabir and Rajshahi University Associate Professor Jakir Hossain presented keynote papers in the event.
Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS) assistant executive director Syed Sultan Uddin Ahamed moderated the discussion.
