Some labour leaders accept new pay structure

A section of apparel workers’ leaders on Sunday accepted the new seven-slab wage structure with Tk 3,000 as the entry point wage, the government earlier announced for implementation from November and asked all to shun violence and join their work from today.
Emerging from a tripartite meeting, held at Bangladesh Garments Manufacturing and Exporters’ Association building late in the evening, National Garments Workers’ Federation convenor Amirul Huq Amin said they did not differ with the new wage structure.
He, however, asked the government to review the wages for the workers in the 5th and the 6th grades.
The labour and employment minister, Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, chaired the meeting attended, among others, by shipping minister Shahjahan Khan, state minister for labour, Munnujan Sufian, chairman of parliamentary standing committee on labour ministry, Israfil Alam, MP, FBCCI president AK Azad, BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy, BKMEA president Selim Osman, former BGMEA president Tipu Munshi, MP, labour leaders Shirin Akhter, Roy Ramesh Chandra, Nazma Akhter, Shamima Nasrin and Anwara Begum.
All the three sides said that a vested quarter was behind the recent violence in the country’s apparel industry.
‘The workers are not involved in the on-going violence in the apparel industry,’ Amirul Huq told reporters after the meeting.
He called for identifying and punishing those involved in the recent incidents of violence.
The labour leaders demanded introduction of full rationing system, construction of dormitories and hospitals for the apparel workers.
A number of apparel factory owners said that they would not be able to pay the increased wages unless violence was contained immediately.
Representatives of a number of the apparel workers’ organisations, who did not attend, said they were not invited to the meeting.
Coordinator of Bangladesh Garment Sramik Sanghati Taslima Akhtar told New Age, they were neither invited to the meeting nor did they agree with the decisions taken by Sunday’s meeting.
‘We still think that the minimum wage of an entry point garment worker should be Tk 5,000,’ said Taslima Akhtar.
Garment Sramik Oikya Forum’s central leader Shafiqul Islam Sabuj said they were not invited to the meeting and they have nothing to do with the decisions of the meeting held at BGMEA building.
Meanwhile, the home affairs ministry at a meeting of its core committee on the day, also attended by the heads of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, discussed the situation facing the country’s apparel industry.
The home minister, Sahara Khatun, chaired the session, attended by, among others, prime minister’s advisor HT Imam and the state minister for home affairs Shamsul Haque Tuku.
Earlier, the labour and manpower minister held a meeting at the secretariat office with a group of political and labour leaders to resolve the crisis.
Workers Party president Rashed Khan Menon, MP, Communist Party of Bangladesh president Monzurul Ahsan Khan, parliamentary standing committee chairman Israfil Alam, MP, Awami League labour secretary Habibiur Rahman Siraj and Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad coordinator Wajedul Islam Khan took part.
They suggested the minister to holding meetings with labour leaders, revise the just announced wage structure and shortening the time for implementing the new wages.
Emerging from the meeting, Menon told New Age, ‘we gave some suggestions to the minister for resolving the on going crisis in the apparel industry.’

Courtesy of NewAge