But BGMEA sees little scope for revision
Labour minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said on Sunday that the new pay structure for apparel workers might be reviewed for identifying anomalies that infused a section of workers with grievances, although garment factory owners see little scope for such revision.
In the wake of widespread violence at garment factories in different areas of the country, the labour minister assured the workers of reviewing their minimum wages and urged them to refrain from vandalism.
Any discriminations found in the wage structure declared this year will be removed after scrutiny, he told newspersons in his office.
On the other hand, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers’ and Exporters’ Association president Abdus Salam Murshedy said, ‘I don’t see any scope for reviewing the pay structure… No pay structure can make all the workers happy. New demands will continue to emerge even if this pay structure is revised.’
He said the workers of only 20 to 30 of the more than 5,000 factories expressed grievances against the new pay regime. ‘Disputes and grievances are being settles through negotiations between the workers and the owners,’ he added.
Murshedy, however, said the BGMEA would go to any meeting convened for discussing workers’ grievances.
The BGMEA chief regretted the acts of vandalism that took place at factories in the export promotion zones but blamed the YoungOne authorities for shutting down their factories abruptly.
‘I think they did not consult the BEPZA or government high-ups before shutting down their factories… Such sudden closure of the factories made the workers angry,’ he remarked.
