Editorial
Labour unrest brewing
Reach consensus on RMG wages
THE Wage Board has failed to come to a decision on monthly salaries for garment workers during its panel meeting on September 2. Apparently, RMG owners' representatives are yet to submit their proposal to the Wage Board. In fact, the sector representatives have asked for a further two weeks to deliberate before submitting their proposal. The last meeting of the Wage Board saw workers' representatives recommending a minimum wage of Tk8,114 as monthly salary (excluding benefits).
The renewed delay in coming up with a proposal from garments manufacturers spawned fear of fresh labour unrest in the sector. Things have been anything but calm in the RMG arena since the Rana Plaza incident that killed more than 1,100 workers. According to Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers Export Association (BGMEA), the body intends to hold two separate extra-ordinary general meetings to get opinion of companies based in Chittagong and Dhaka. Following this the body intends to sit on September 17 to come to a unified decision.
The fear of workers at this juncture is that BGMEA may be playing a delaying tactic with the hope of pushing the new salary scale beyond the next Eid festivity. With tempers running high after a series of high-profile disasters, another major labour unrest will not be to anyone's benefit. With the RMG sector earning an approximate US$26billion in export earnings, employing three million people, any disruption will cost the economy heavily. It is more imperative than ever for the government to step in now to help close the deal sooner rather than later.
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