Minimum Wage For Workers
BGMEA consults with members in Dhaka, Ctg this week
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association will hold two separate views exchange meetings of the members in Dhaka and Chittagong and an extraordinary general meeting this week to set proposals for minimum wage for the garment workers.
The BGMEA will place its proposal on wage to the chairman of the wage board on September 17.
The BGMEA will hold its first meeting in Chittagong on Tuesday.
The second meeting will be held in Dhaka on Thursday at BGMEA auditorium followed by the EGM at the same venue.
The meetings will discuss the issues related to minimum wage, factory inspection and safety issues
Though the various issues are included in the agenda, fixing wage board proposals would be the main issue, a garment owner said.
Representatives of the apparel factory owners to the wage board did not submit their proposals for minimum wages for workers at the fourth meeting of the wage board on September 2.
A leader of the BGMEA said that sector leaders held several meetings to finalise the proposals to the wage board but failed to reach a consensus.
Owners of the big factories gave their opinions and proposed a reasonable increase in the minimum wages considering price spiral, inflation, nutrition, transport and house rent.
But owners of small and medium-sized factories did not agree to include lunch, transport and other non-wage allowances in the wage, he said.
The BGMEA has taken a decision to hold EGM and emergency view exchanges to get opinions from the members of the trade body, said Shahidullah Azim, vice-president of BGMEA.
He also said the BGMEA also warned its members to comply with rules regarding child labour, open space in the factories on roof top and mobile tower.
Azim said we also urged the members to set a parameter for giving punishment who will not comply with fire and building safety provisions.
‘It’s a matter of all members, not only for the BGMEA as we have to pay salary to workers and that’s why it would be better if the minimum wage for workers is set with the consent of factory owners,’ said another director of the apparel trade body, who preferred anonymity.
Earlier, the leaders of garment workers had placed their proposals to the chairman of minimum wage board formed to fix a fresh minimum wage level for garment workers, proposing a minimum of Tk 8,114 as monthly wages for the workers.
The government on June 6 set up the six-member minimum wage board with retired district judge AK Roy as chairman.
The last wage board on July 27, 2010 increased the monthly minimum wage to Tk 3,000 from Tk 1,662.50 while workers demanded Tk 5,000.
The first minimum wage board, instituted in 1994, set Tk 940 in monthly minimum wage for apparel workers. The second, set up in 2006, set Tk 1,662.50 a month in minimum wage.
-With New Age input
