Different garment workers right bodies and left leaning political parties on Tuesday rejected the minimum wage of Tk 5,300 per month for the garment workers announced by the RMG workers’ wage board on Monday.
The leaders of 12 garment workers’ right bodies at a press conference at Nirmal Sen Auditorium at Segunbagicha rejecting the announced wages said that actually the minimum wage was only Tk 3,200 while
food allowance, house rent and medical allowance were included with it.
Mushrefa Mishu, the president of Garments Sramik Oikkya Forum said that they were demanding basic minimum wage of Tk 8,000 per month and demanded to revise the announced wage within November 18.
Otherwise, the 12 garment labour bodies would announce tougher movement programmes including strikes at garment factories.
The organisations announced programmes including handing memorandum to the minimum wage board on November 10, exchanging views with different political parties and professional bodies and organisations from November 7, holding gate meetings at the main gate of the garment factories and holding rallies at Narayanganj on November 12 and at Gazipur on November 15.
Garment labour leaders Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, Taslima Ahter, Shabnam Hafiz, Shamim Imam and others attended the press conference.
Jatiya Garment Sramik Federation and Bangladesh Garment Sramik O Shilpa Rakkha Mancha leaders demanded that the announced wage must be revised.
Leaders of the Communist Party of Bangladesh and Socialist Party of Bangladesh at a joint statement also rejected the announced minimum wage for the garment workers.
The CPB president Mujahidul Islam Selim, general secretary Syed Abu Zafar Ahmed and the SPB general secretary Khalequzzaman demanded that the wage must be revised and it should be minimum Tk 8,000 per month.
Democratic Left Alliance, a combine of the eight left-leaning political parties, also rejected the announced minimum wage.
The coordinator of the combine, Saiful Huq, in a press statement demanded that the wage must be revised satisfactorily.
Ganasanhati Andolan also rejected the announced minimum wage and demanded Tk 8,000 per month for the garment workers.
Zonayed Saki, the chief coordinator of the party, demanded increasing the minimum wage satisfactorily.
Jatiya Mukti Council president Badruddin Umar and general secretary Faezul Hakim said that the announced wage would not be acceptable to the workers.
The government had announced the wage to satisfy the garment factory owners, the left leaders alleged. (source)