Civil society think tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) has recommended Tk 6,560 as the minimum wage for an entry-level worker in the country’s apparel sector.
Its Additional Research Director Khondaker Golam Moazzem made the proposal at a dialogue “Revision of the minimum wage in the RMG sector in 2013″ in the capital’s Cirdap auditorium yesterday.
“There is a huge gap between the monthly salary required and the existing scale. A board-based acceptable revision of minimum wage is hence pivotal to rebuild the image of the garment sector,” he said.
The CPD came up with the recommendation after conducting a survey, because a Minimum Wage Board comprised of representatives from the government, workers and factory owners is working to set the entry-level wage.
The proposed minimum wage has been estimated based on the upper poverty line of Tk 6,444.
Moazzem said as per their recommendation entry-level workers would get a basic salary of Tk 4,300, house rent of Tk 1,720 and medical allowance of Tk 540 in the first year of their work at a factory.
The gross salary would reach Tk 8,200 following a 20 percent increase in the second year, he added.
The minimum wage was last raised to Tk 3,000 in 2010, from Tk 1,662.50.
Moazzem said the wage board should consider the minimum wage as an income that met the basic needs of workers and their families and provided discretionary income as savings.
According to the economist, the upward adjustment of wages could be implemented better if retailers and buyers were ready to provide better cutting and making charges.
CPD also urged the board to fix tenure for the workers in each grade.
Labour leaders, parliamentarians from the ruling and the opposition parties and independent experts all backed the CPD recommendation, although some demanded more as the living cost has increased tremendously in the recent years.
Nazrul Islam Khan, secretary general of Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, said there was no scope for setting the minimum wage below Tk 8,000.
Israfil Alam, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on labour and employment ministry, said the sector could not sustain by paying low salary to the workers.
Arshad Jamal Dipu, a director of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, did not directly oppose the CPD proposal, but said the current salary structure was not sufficient.
He said none of the parties should be rigid about their demands.
For the last four days, the country’s apparel sector has been witnessing a labour unrest seeking revision of the workers’ minimum wage.
The sector became volatile after factory owners had proposed a 20 percent or Tk 600 hike in the salary.
Aggrieved by this workers took to the streets and the demonstration spread in Dhaka and its outskirts, as they demanded a minimum wage of Tk 8,114.
Source: The Daily Star
