The meeting between the two sides ended without a decision on Tuesday as there was no agreement between the owners and workers of the garment industry on the amount of annual wage increase. The owners want to increase the annual wage increase or increment of the garment workers by an additional 2 percent to 7 percent from the previous 5 percent until the minimum wage is re-fixed. But the workers want 12 percent.
The fourth meeting of the committee formed by the Ministry of Labor was held yesterday as there was no agreement between the employers and the workers regarding the revaluation of the minimum wage and the annual wage increase. Six representatives of employers and workers were present in this meeting held under the chairmanship of Additional Secretary Sabur Hossain in the meeting room of the Ministry of Labor in the Secretariat.
Sources of the meeting said that in the meeting that lasted for about two and a half hours, the owners and workers argued for their demands. While the owner agreed to give 7 percent increment, the labor side withdrew from the previous position and demanded 12 percent. Initially, the labor side demanded a total annual wage increase of 15 percent with an additional 10 percent. In the third meeting of the committee, the owners proposed a total wage increase of 6 percent with an additional 1 percent plus the regular 5 percent. However, in yesterday's meeting, as there was no agreement on the percentage of annual wage increase, it was decided to hold a committee meeting again next week under the chairmanship of the labor secretary.
The meeting was attended by Fazle Shamim Ehsan, Executive President of Knit Garment Manufacturers Association BKMEA, ANM Saifuddin, Member of the Auxiliary Committee of BGMEA, Secretary General of Bangladesh Employers Federation Farooq Ahmad, Youth Affairs Secretary of the Central Committee of Nationalist Labor Party, Mohammad Khorshed Alam, General of Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation. Editor Babul Akhtar and Bangladesh Kabir Ahmed, Central Vice President of Sramik Kalyan Federation.
Fazle Shamim Ehsan said that last year the minimum wage has increased by 56 percent. As a result, it is difficult for the factories to raise wages again by 12 percent. Even if 20-25 percent of the factories can meet the demands made by the representatives of the workers, the rest will not be able to. The factory will gradually close down. Due to this, 7 percent annual wage hike has been proposed.
Babul Akhtar said, 'When the issue of raising wages comes up, the owners fear that the factory will be closed. However, the export of clothing is increasing year by year. And every year some new factories are opened and some factories are closed down – this is a regular picture in the apparel sector. To get purchase orders, the owners quietly take purchase orders at low prices. As a result, we have requested to take a decision based on reality.'
In the second meeting of the committee on November 4, the labor representatives proposed a 15 percent annual wage hike until the minimum wage is re-fixed.
