Bangladesh readymade garment workers and labour leaders are very much optimistic about the new wage board becoming a reality. The Government is expected to form the Minimum Wage Board for reviewing the remunerations of the workers by the end of this month.
Additionally, Bangladesh Labour Ministry is scheduled to hold a meeting this week to finalise the process while the factory owners’ associations and workers’ organisations have already sent names of their representatives to the Ministry for the Board.
“We’re highly encouraged and optimistic about the minimum wage board which could bring the expected changes in our garment workers’ fate,” Amirul Haque Amin, President of National Garment Workers Federation (NGWF), said while talking to Apparel Resources.
Amirul also said that the garment labour organisations working in Bangladesh have yet to finalise the proposed minimum figure from their side but unofficially he stated that it would be around BDT 16,000 (US $ 200) per month from the existing BDT 5,300 (US $ 68).
Meanwhile, Clothing and Garment Workers League President Kamrul Anam urges the buyers to share the responsibility to ensure fair living wages for the readymade garment workers so that they can live a decent life.
“Providing a higher living wage to the workers will be difficult for the industry which has been struggling due to lower prices offered by the buyers. I would request the buyers to contribute some extra bucks for these poor workers,” Kamrul underlined.
In December 2013, a minimum wage board had set the lowest wage for garment workers at BDT 5,300 (US $ 68) raised from BDT 3,000 (US $ 36) which was set in July 2010.
