Shipbreaking workers demand Tk 36,000 minimum wage

Staff Reporter:

Shipbreaking workers have demanded a minimum monthly wage of Tk 36,000, citing years of inhumane wages and dangerous working conditions in one of Bangladesh’s most hazardous industries.

The demand was announced at a press conference organised by the Shipbreaking Workers’ Trade Union Forum in Chattogram on Saturday.

In a written statement, forum convener Tapan Dutta said a minimum wage of Tk 16,000 for eight hours of work was declared in 2018 but has never been properly enforced.

Instead, he alleged, some yard owners compel workers to work up to 12 hours a day while claiming compliance with the wage structure, calling it a clear violation of labour laws and a deceptive practice.

Tapan urged the Minimum Wage Board to set the grade-4 minimum wage at Tk 36,000 for 2025, with proportionate increases for other grades.

He also demanded that apprentices be included in grade-4 after completing three months of training.

The forum said a wage below Tk 36,000 is insufficient to meet basic needs—such as food, housing, education, healthcare, transport and risk allowance—for a worker’s five-member family.

In addition, the forum placed five other demands: effective labour inspections; establishment of a 50-bed hospital and worker housing in shipbreaking industrial zones; mandatory appointment letters and ID cards; annual wage revisions in line with inflation; and compulsory wage payments through banks or mobile financial services.

Labour leaders from various organisations attended the press conference.