Pay hike of RMG workers

Staff Correspondent

The government has asked garment exporters and knitwear manufacturers to table proposals on the pay hike of readymade garment workers in the next three to four days, an official said on Wednesday.

"After the announcement of 20 percent dearness allowance for the government employees, the issue of raising salaries of the garment workers was also discussed," commerce secretary Firoz Ahmed told reporters after a meeting on 'Social Complaint Forum for RMG' at the Secretariat.
 
"The authorities of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers' and Exporters' Association have moved to raise salaries of the workers."
 
"But they could not decide on how much the hike would be. Under the circumstances we have asked them to send a joint proposal in the next three to four days," Firoz Ahmed said.
 
The government would make a final decision on the hike after getting the proposals, he said.
 
BKMEA announced the pay hike in the first week of Aug in the wake of spiraling prices of essentials. The BGMEA followed suit a few days later.
 
The commerce secretary said they had also discussed the recent unrest and violence in the garment factories.
 
"The home ministry has been requested stepped-up security measures in the areas where the violence had happened before," he said.
 
The chief adviser had earlier asked the garment owners to consider the salary hike of the workers.
 
"We will also consider the chief adviser's directive in this regard," he said.
 
On whether the garment workers would also be given dearness allowances, the secretary said: "Let the proposals come to us first. Then we will fix the amount considering the proposals."
 
"Ninety-nine percent garment industries pay their workers in line with the government-declared minimum salary structure and of them 86 percent industries disburse salaries regularly."
 
"The remaining 13 percent industries do not give the salaries regularly and the government will look into the issue," Ahmed said.
 
Officials from the ministries of commerce and labour, and BGMEA and BKMEA representatives were present in the meeting.

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