Unions in Bangladesh have renewed their demands for better wages for the country’s garment workers, with a human chain protest organised earlier this month calling for a tripling of the monthly minimum.
The protest organised by the IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC) last week is seeking a rise in the monthly minimum wages of readymade garment workers from the current BDT5,300 (US$62) to BDT16,000 (US$188).
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In January 2018, the government of Bangladesh set up a minimum wage board consisting of representatives from employers, national trade union federations, and government officials. In July, employers’ representatives proposed to increase the monthly minimum wages to BDT6,360 (US$75), while a trade union representative tabled an increase up to BDT12,020 (US$142).
An alliance of labour unions and non-governmental organisations strongly condemned the wage process and urged brands sourcing from the country to take action.
Speaking in a press conference last month, Salauddin Shapon, secretary general of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council (IBC), said the lower minimum wage proposals are not acceptable to garment workers.
“Before formulating our demand for BDT16,000 as the minimum wage, the IBC conducted a study and carefully considered various aspects including cost of living, inflation trends and minimum wages in major countries that are producing readymade garments. We will continue to organise various actions to convey garment workers’ demands to the government.”
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By GlobalDataIn addition to the minimum wage increase, the IBC also wants the categorisation of workers based on skill levels to be reduced from the current seven to just five grades. And a policy should be adopted to ensure that workers are promoted to higher grades within a reasonable period of two years, it says.
In addition, it wants wages to be increased 10% annually to ensure workers can meet rising costs for food, shelter, children’s education and healthcare.
On top of this, the IBC wants the piece rate system to be improved, saying it currently leads to many disputes as payment is discussed after completion of work. Instead, payment should be decided before beginning the piecework, it says.
Further, the training period for apprentices should be limited to three months instead of the current practice of six months, and apprentices’ wages should raise from BDT4,180 (US$49) to BDT10,000 (US$117).
“The demand for increasing minimum wage is one of the most crucial issues for Bangladesh readymade garment workers,” adds Apoorva Kaiwar, IndustriAll South Asia regional secretary. “The government should consider the reality of workers’ lives when debating on the minimum wages to improve the decent work and sustainable development of the readymade garments sector.”
The minimum wage in Bangladesh was fixed at BDT5,300 (US$62) in 2013, an increase from BDT3,000 (US$35) adopted in 2010.
