Labour and Employment Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju on Monday said the government will sit on November 21 with the board, formed to re-fix the minimum wage for the garment workers to take final decision in fixing a new wage structure.
“The government will sit with the wage board on November 21 and take final decision in this regard,” he told reporters at the Secretariat after a meeting with the leaders of BGMEA and BKMEA.
The Labour Minister said all the RMG factories closed due to recent unrest in the RMG sector will reopen tomorrow (Tuesday) and urged the garment workers to join work.
About the impact of ongoing political stalemate in the country, he said Bangladesh is gradually losing its RMG market abroad due to hartal.
BGMEA president Atiqul Islam and BKMEA president Selim Osman were present in the meeting.
On November 4, the board, formed to re-fix the minimum wage for the garment workers, finalised a new minimum wage structure at Tk 5,300 but the garment factory owners rejected it.
Labour leaders also rejected the new wage structure sticking to their demand for Tk 8,114 as the minimum wage.
In June last, the Labour and Employment Ministry formed the six-member wage board, headed by K Roy, a former district judge, giving it six months time to fix the minimum wage for the garment workers.
Source: UNB Connect
