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The second meeting of the minimum wage board formed to determine wages for garment workers began at its office in Segunbagicha, Dhaka, at noon on Monday.
Ahead of the meeting, five alliances of garment workers’ organisations demanded a minimum monthly wage of Tk 32,131.
They also proposed setting basic pay at 60 per cent of the total salary, house rent at 50 per cent and annual increments at 15 per cent.
The five alliances, representing 55 registered garment workers’ federations, submitted a memorandum to the board outlining their demands.
The memorandum called for a new wage structure based on 12 criteria, including workers’ living costs. It also proposed reviewing the government pay structure, minimum wages in Asian countries and garment workers’ wages in Cambodia, Pakistan, India and Vietnam.
Workers’ representatives said a realistic and impartial wage structure was necessary to ensure the living standards and financial security of nearly four million garment workers in Bangladesh.
They argued that basic pay should account for 60 per cent of total wages, following the structure introduced in 2006. A lower basic salary reduces workers’ overtime payments and service benefits upon retirement or termination, they said.
They also proposed house rent allowances equivalent to 50 per cent of total wages and annual increments of 15 per cent in line with rising food prices, living costs and inflation.
The representatives said eight additional proposals concerning workers in the dyeing and knitwear sectors would be submitted after Monday’s meeting.
Meanwhile, members of the Garment Workers Front staged a demonstration on the road in front of the wage board office, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 37,000.
