Owners of ready-made garment factories on Wednesday night agreed to pay Tk 5,300 in minimum wage for entry-level workers.
The announcement came after a meeting of representatives of the garment owners with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at her official residence Ganobhaban, chief of the apparel trade body said.
“Yes, we’ve agreed to the new minimum monthly wage,” M Atiqul Islam, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) told UNB over phone.
He said it will be decided in a day or two as to from which month the new salary structure will be implemented.
Labour Minister Rajiuddin Ahmed Raju, State Minister for Labour Begum Monnujan Sufian and BKMEA President AKM Selim Osman were, among others, present at the meeting.
Sources said the new salary structure will be implemented very soon, most probably from December.
Meanwhile, owners of all garment factories at Ashulia on the outskirts of the capital have decided to reopen their units from Thursday, said a BGMEA message.
All factories in the zone remained closed on Wednesday for security reason.
On July 6, a six-member minimum wage board was formed to re-fix the wage. On November 4, the minimum wage board recommended a Tk 5,300 minimum wage, which was rejected by both the workers and owners.
Though the RMG worker organisations are demanding the minimum wage to be fixed at Tk 8,114, the owners are showing reluctance to accept even the lower amount recommended by the wage board.
-Courtesy.
