The government has asked owners and workers’ organisations to nominate their respective representatives aiming to form wage board to review wages for the country’s garment sector amid labour protests demanding Tk 30,000 as monthly wages.
In this connection, the Department of Labour (DoL) has sent separate letters to the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, asking them to nominate three representatives each and submit their photographs and National Identity (NID) card details.
When asked, Abdus Samad Al Azad, director general of DoL, confirmed DoL has asked them to nominate their representatives for the proposed wage board, paving the way for a fresh review of wages in the country’s largest export-oriented industrial sector.
The move comes as garment workers have been demanding wage hikes amid rising inflation and living costs. Workers from some of the garment factories on Thursday morning took to the street for the second day in the Azampur and Rajlokkhi areas, bringing traffic to a standstill and causing immense suffering to commuters.
Labour leaders argue that the current minimum wage of Tk 12,500 set in November 2023 and effective December 2023 is insufficient against high inflation and soaring living costs. Recent amendments to the labour law reduced the wage revision cycle from five years to three years, making a review timely as the three-year mark approaches, they noted. The minimum wage for garment workers was Tk 1,662.50 in 2006, revised to Tk 3,000 in 2010, Tk 5,300 in 2013, Tk 8,000 in 2018, and Tk 12,500 in 2023.
