The week-long agitation by readymade garment workers that had Bangladesh on the edge, is apparently showing signs of abating after the Government recently announced revised wages in six grades following a tripartite meeting.
It may be mentioned here that the apparel manufacturing hubs of Gazipur, Ashulia, Savar and Mirpur have been hit hard due to the on-going workers’ protest against what they alleged discrepancies in the new minimum wage board. With things showing no signs of improvement, the Government convened a tripartite meeting (involving workers’ representatives, factory owners and Government officials) on Sunday, and decided to hike wage in six grades while leaving the minimum monthly pay unchanged at Taka 8,000.
Following the Government’s move to address the issues, workers reportedly started going off the roads with no major incident of violence reported so far.
The latest workers’ unrest, as per insiders, has lain bare the so called disconnect between the workers and the union leaders with reports of workers disobeying calls from some union leaders to shun violence and report to work.
As per some union leaders, the Government and the factory owners allegedly did not allow any mainstream union activities in Ashulia and Savar areas over the last two years, which has reportedly allowed this detachment between some workers and the unions.
Meanwhile, the ILO Country Office in Bangladesh in a statement welcomed the decision to revise the wages.
“We acknowledge the genuine efforts of all parties, led by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, to work towards setting minimum wages at an appropriate level and to reach a consensus. Through this tripartite process of dialogue confidence is being built and we call upon all parties to help the industry resume its activities.” – Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director, ILO, Bangladesh
