Minimum wage: RMG workers to march towards PMO

Staff Reporter :
The National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF) on Sunday announced that they would march towards the Prime Minister Office’s on October 15 demanding Tk 23,000 as the minimum wage of the garment workers.

They also demanded for ensuring full freedom of becoming organised of the workers of the country’s apparel industry and 65 per cent of the workers’ basic wages with a 10 per cent yearly increment.

The leaders of the NGWF came up with the demands while speaking at programme in the city.

On the first day of its 15-day programme, the federation leaders paid tribute to the language martyrs at the Central Shaheed Minar in Dhaka and arranged an oath-taking ceremony of the workers.

The NGWF President Amirul Haque presided over the event while Ekota Garments Workers Federation General Secretary Kamrul Hasan gave a speech in solidarity with them.

Speaking at the programme, the workers’ leaders announced that they would arrange protest meetings on the premises of different garments factories from October 2 to 14 and a street protest towards the Prime Minister Office on October 15 to realise their demand.

Amirul Haque said, “Tk 8,000 wage for the RMG workers announced in 2018, which was equivalent to $100 at that time. Currently, the market price of $100 stands at more than Tk 11,000.

Besides, the price of essential commodities increased significantly in the last five years. In some cases, the prices have become more than two or three times higher.

So, the minimum wage should be more than Tk 23,000 to cope with the current market.”

“On the other hand, the profit of garment factory owners ranges from 7 to 10 per cent. Along with this, the owners also get up to 10 per cent cash incentive from the government against exports. These factors need to be taken into consideration in determining wages,” he added.

Mentioning that the wages of the workers in the garment sector of Bangladesh are the lowest compared to the competing countries, he said they demanded the minimum wages considering the current market price, inflation, increase in the value of the dollar and the garment exporting countries.

The labor leaders have also sought the cooperation of the global buyers of garments made in Bangladesh regarding the increase in the wages of the garment workers.

Buyers from various countries like Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan import Bangladeshi garments with 10 to 15 per cent duty exemption.

So, if necessary, the price of the product should be slightly increased, they said.