GWTUC demands Tk 25,000 as monthly minimum wage for RMG workers

Staff reporter :
Considering the increased price of daily commodities and rising living costs, Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre (GWTUC) demanded increase of monthly minimum wages for the readymade garment workers to Tk 25,000 from the existing Tk 8,000.
They placed the demand at a round table discussion titled ‘Increase in wages of garment workers’ held at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the capital on Saturday.
The labor rights platform also demanded immediate formation of wage board for reviewing the wages of RMG workers.
In a written speech at the discussion, Sadekur Rahman Shamim, General Secretary of the organization said that in 2018, the government had been fixed Tk 8,000 as a minimum monthly wage for an garments worker. Where, monthly minimum basic salary of garment workers was at Tk 4100, house rent Tk 2050 taka, food allowance Tk 900, medical allowance Tk 600 and travel allowance Tk 350.
Because of the abnormal rise in cost of living including the daily essentials, house rent, medicine, transport, workers have been going through dire circumstances, according to the written speech.
Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, a union leader, said that, currently a worker needs more than 14,000 taka for daily necessities and house rent. The cost of each family has increased by 2 thousand 100 taka just for rice. In this situation, it is not possible to survive with the current wages.
Participating in the discussion, Member Secretary of the National committee to protect oil-gas-mineral resources-power and Ports and Professor of Jahangirnagar University, Anu Muhammad, said that, the government must institute a new wage board soon to revise the minimum wage of apparel workers at Tk 25,000.
‘The government is using Russia- Ukraine war as an excuse for inflation. But the crisis would not have arisen if the government was not completely dependent on imports for energy issues including gas and oil.”
This would not have been the case if the government relies mostly on domestic resources. But the greed of taking commission of thousands of crores Tk, they have made a major dependence on imported fuels for power generation, Anu Mohammad added.
Mujahidul Islam Khan Selim, former President of Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), said that, as the real wage of the RMG workers is declining rapidly, the minimum wage must be revised to protect our workers form the huge price surge.