The New Nation - Internet Edition

Syful Islam

Despite massive unrest in different garment zones across the country, factory owners won't rethink over the proposed pay packages of workers, stakeholders say.

"Now everything is lying on government's hand. A government formed wage board has proposed the new wage structure and we agreed it. Everything will be implemented according to the government set time," BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy told The New Nation yesterday.

The Government on Thursday announced a new wage structure for garment factory owners proposing Tk 3,000 as monthly minimum wage against previous Tk 1,662 a month.

On factory owners' demand the Government allowed 3 months to implement the proposed wage from November 1. The BGMEA and the BKMEA on Wednesday last at a joint meeting at BGMEA auditorium sought three months to implement the new wage structure.

As the Government set monthly minimum wage at Tk 3,000 against workers' demand of Tk 5,000 and gave three months to implement it, workers did not take it easily and went on rampage. On Friday angry workers damaged many vehicles and establishments in city's Tejgaon and Gulshan area.

In early Saturday detective police arrested Advocate Mantu Ghosh, the Communist Party's Narayangonj chief from his residence on allegation of instigating labour unrest.

The workers, on Saturday put blockade in Narayangonj and Savar area, went rampage on different garment factories including a factory of Envoy Group, owned by BGMEA president Abdus Salam Murshedy.

Police handled the incident ironically and brought it under control after 2 to 3 years of sporadic clashes where over 200 people including police personnel were injured.

Workers in Narayangonj put blockade in Narayangonj-Dhaka link road demanding a minimum wage of Tk 5,000 and free their leader Mantu Ghosh immediately. They withdrew their barricade after about an hour on assurance of Selim Osman, the newly elected president of BKMEA that the authorities would consider their demands.

Abdus Salam Murshedy yesterday told The New Nation that the government has fixed the minimum wage at Tk 3,000. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina personally looked after it.

He said that before coming into effect the new wage structure would be kept 14 days for comment from stakeholders and later it will be reviewed again by the wage board. After that it will have to get vetted by the ministry of law affairs and sent to the President for his approval before gazette notification. So, it needs some days to come into effect.

Replying to a question Murshedy said that they are not thinking to reconsider the new wage structure at this point and no plan to make the proposed pay package effective before the set timeframe.

Murshedy said they need security of their establishments. "Factory owners are suffering from lack of confidence and only the government can help restore it."

BKMEA president Selim Osman told this correspondent that less than 10 per cent factory workers joined Saturday's agitation in Savar and Narayangonj. Most of them are in street without understanding the whole things.

"I have asked the workers today to go through the formal procedure instead of agitation. Their leaders can raise their demands in the wage board within the 14 days of time frame. The wage board will then see what can be done."

"I am hopeful that the unrest will go shortly," he said.