The recent demonstration by garment workers in front of their factories and the Chittagong Export Processing Zone (CEPZ) office gate highlights their dissatisfaction with the new wage board implemented by the Bangladesh Export Processing Zone Authority (BEPZA).
According to reports, the workers received their December salaries based on the new wage board, but many expressed disappointment with the minimal increases.
Some workers, such as Aklima Khatun from Jay Jay Mills (Bangladesh) Private Limited, stated that their salaries only increased by Taka 400, which they find inadequate.
Anwara Begum, a junior operator at CHIC Wings BD Intimates co. Ltd., mentioned that around 95 per cent of the workers in her factory are junior operators, and their salaries did not see significant increases.
CEPZ executive director Md Abdus Sobhan acknowledged the workers’ dissatisfaction with the new wage board even as he mentioned that wages for December have been paid to approximately 75 percent of the factories in the CEPZ based on the newly fixed wage.
However, the remaining factories are expected to pay the wages in the coming days.
