CPD proposes Tk 17,568 minimum wage forRMG workers
Staff Reporter :
Considering the rising living costs, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Sunday proposed Tk 17,568 as the minimum wage for the country’s readymade garments (RMG) workers.
The CPD made the proposal at a time when different rights bodies and federations of the apparel workers are waging agitation programmes demanding up to Tk 25,000 as minimum wage of the workers of the largest exporting industry to cope with the current inflation.
The government set the current minimum wage Tk 8,000 for the RMG workers in 2018.
The private think-tank placed the new proposal at a dialogue on “Refixation of Minimum Wage for RMG workers: Observations and Recommendations” at a city hotel.
CPD Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem and its Senior Research Associate Tamim Ahmed proposed the new wage for the RMG workers.
They also recommended specifying all elements of a wage structure using a percentage-based system by the minimum wage board instead of a fixed salary.
The CPD thinks that if garment owners could get an additional 7.0 cents on average per unit RMG product, they could readily implement the CPD-proposed wage structure.
The global brands should consider the matter for the betterment of Bangladesh’s RMG industry, it said.
Speaking at the event, Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Executive President Mohammad Hatem said international brands and buyers are “sucking the blood out of the Bangladeshi apparel industry” by imposing additional costs in the names of ethical practices.
“International apparel brands have no coordination between their ethical and sourcing teams.
The ethical team always pushes pressure to comply with some ethical standards, increasing production costs. Meanwhile, the sourcing team of that brand is unwilling to pay for that additional cost,” he added.
Hatem also said about 80 per cent of entrepreneurs are now fighting for their survival due to the global economic uncertainty caused by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
Meanwhile, Khondokar Golam Moazzem justified the proposed increase by citing findings from a comprehensive survey conducted by the CPD on the RMG sector.
The primary objective of the study was to assess the current socio-economic conditions of garment workers and to provide well-informed recommendations for a fair minimum wage.
The primary data source was a survey conducted on 228 RMG workers from 76 factories located in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Gazipur, and Chattogram.
