Give govt ultimatum to revise minimum wage
Leaders of 45 garment workers’ rights bodies at a protest rally on Friday issued an ultimatum to the Awami League government to revise the minimum wage for the garment workers by November 20.
The garment labour leaders at the protest rally organised in front of the National Press Club also threatened to announce tougher agitation programmes, including strike in the garment factories, if the government does not revise the minimum wage within the deadline.
The minimum wage board had recently fixed the monthly minimum wage for the garment workers at Tk 5,300.
Garment Workers’ Trade Union Centre president Mantu Ghosh at the rally said that the minimum wage set by the board would not be acceptable to the garment workers.
He also demanded revision of the minimum wage and implementation of the monthly minimum wage of Tk 8,000 for the garment workers by November 20.
The garment labour rights bodies would hold a grand rally in the capital after November 20 from where tougher agitation programmes would be announced, he added.
Garment labour leader Amirul Haque Amin said that inclusion of food and transport allowances in the minimum wage would not be accepted.
He demanded immediate revision of the minimum wage which could be acceptable to the garment workers.
Another leader Abul Hossain said that most workers in the country were deprived of decent wage while most of the garment workers were low paid.
KM Ruhul Amin said that the garment sector would face agitation again if the minimum wage for the workers had not been revised soon.
Chaired by National Garment Workers’ Federation leader Amirul Haque Amin, the rally was addressed, among others, by garment labour leaders Mohammad Delwar Hossain, Salauddin Swapan, Quamrul Ahsan, Namur Hasan Jewel, Anwara Begum and Joly Talukder.
The rally was followed by a procession that paraded different city streets. Several hundred garment workers carrying red flags took part in the rally.
-With New Age input
