16 December, 2024Bangladesh’s labour and employment advisor announced last week that ready-made garment (RMG) workers will receive an additional four per cent pay increase from December 2024, pending a new minimum wage. With the five per cent annual increment previously announced by the minimum wage board, the total annual increment is nine per cent. Unions say it is not enough amid the cost-of-living crisis.
The minimum wage was last revised in Bangladesh in November 2023 when the government increased the wage of an-entry level garment worker from BDT8,000 (US$66) to BDT12,500 (US$104), with an annual increment of five per cent. Unions, including IndustriALL affiliates, had called for a minimum wage of BDT23,000 (US$190), with a ten per cent annual increment, but the final wage increase was more in accordance with the proposal made by the owners of garment factories. This led to massive protests in Dhaka which were met with brutal police action leading to killings of workers and filing of criminal cases against union leaders.
Nazma Akter, executive committee member of IndustriALL and president of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, says:
“With inflation hovering above eleven per cent, the additional annual increment of four per cent is a pittance. RMG workers are unable to survive given no real wage growth and the rising cost of living. We urge the government to set up a new minimum wage board as soon as possible and revise the wage taking into account workers’ needs and ensure that they are paid living wages and not starvation wages.”
Together with affliates, IndustriALL is pushing for legally binding sectoral negotiations to improve working conditions and wages in the industry. Through the joint dialogue platform between employers, trade unions, and buyers within the Action, Collaboration, Transformation (ACT) initiative, IndustriALL is developing a joint approach to collective bargaining, supported by relevant purchasing practices of the global buyers.
Atle Høie, general secretary of IndustriALL, says:
“We believe there is a need to build a comprehensive framework that allows for collective bargaining negotiations at the industry level to improve working conditions and wages and ensure that brand purchasing practices directly support collective bargaining. This is a unique time for workers and employers in Bangladesh to establish a better and fairer RMG industry and we invite employers’ associations to jointly work with us towards this goal.”
Photo credit: ILO Asia Pacific Flickr