The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Government will employ mobile courts to penalise garment factory owners who do not pay their employees the minimum wage, Commerce adviser Hossain Zillur Rahman said yesterday.

The decision was taken at a meeting on the garments sector at the commerce ministry yesterday. Following the meeting the Adviser said the government is also mulling over forming participatory committees to mediate between workers and employers in each garment factory.

He warned that the government would take stern action against any employer found not complying with the Government fixed minimum wages.

The Caretaker Government has already filed cases against 47 garment factory owners for not complying with minimum wage laws, he said adding, "The government is closely monitoring the labour issues."

A crisis committee consisting of 15 teams is working in different garment factories to investigate the problems, he informed.

The adviser said the meeting had discussed the initial findings of a report from a committee tasked with investigating recent incidents of unrest in the garments sector. The meeting also addressed labour rights and development of the sector.

Dr Zillur said 42 per cent of garment factories were found to be paying the minimum wage in June last year. By September the figure reached 48 per cent, while in December the figure rose to 56 per cent. The adviser conceded that the number of factories found to be complying with the law fell in January to 51 per cent.