Workers' demand minimum wage of Tk 32,000, owners seek four days time
A meeting takes place on Monday on setting new wages for the apparel workers of the country. Collected photo.
The representative of the apparel workers, Babul Akter, has formally submitted a proposal to the wage board demanding minimum wage for garment sector workers and employees at Tk 32,000.
Meanwhile, the owners have sought four working days to review the proposal.
The proposal and the request for time were made at the second meeting held on Monday at the office of the Wage Board housed in the 'Shah Parashiya' building at Segunbagicha, in the capital. The meeting was chaired by Board Chairman Syed Azad Subhani (District and Sessions Judge).
After the meeting, Babul Akter, a member representing the workers and General Secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF), said that a proposal for a minimum wage of Tk 32,000 for an apparel worker has been submitted to the board, keeping pace with the country's current high inflation and the rising cost of living.
Without giving an immediate opinion on the workers' demand, the representatives of the owners' side requested time to review it. BGMEA representatives and other owners' representatives asked the Wage Board for four working days to discuss the proposal among themselves and do internal calculations.
At today's meeting, the board's neutral member Professor Dr. Mosleh Uddin Ahmed of Dhaka University, Bangladesh Employers' Federation Joint Secretary-General Asif Ayub, Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal (BJSD) President Anwar Hossain, and BGMEA Director A B M Samsuddin were present. The date of the board's next meeting has been set on November 16.
