(Dhaka) The minimum wage committee for Bangladesh’s textile industry on Tuesday increased the basic monthly salary of the sector’s four million workers by 56.25%, bringing it to 12,500 takas (156 Canadian dollars), but this amount was immediately rejected by the unions.
“The new minimum monthly wage for garment factory workers has been set at Taka 12,500. It will be effective from December,” Raisha Afroz, secretary of the government-appointed minimum wage committee, told AFP.
This amount was immediately deemed insufficient by the Bangladesh Industrial and Garment Workers’ Federation (BGIWF).
” This is unacceptable. This is below our expectations,” protested to AFP Kalpona Akter, president of the BGIWF, who believes that the minimum wage should be increased to at least 15,000 takas.
Upon the announcement, hundreds of textile workers gathered near the Ministry of Labor in central Dhaka, the capital.
“We make fun of the workers. It is obvious that the government and the owners have only looked at their own interests, ignoring the cost of living for workers,” denounced Taslima Akter, a union leader, at the rally.
” An injustice ”
The textile workers, who have been demonstrating for two weeks, are demanding an almost tripling of the minimum monthly wage, currently at 8,300 takas ($104) and which they want to see rise to 23,000 takas ($287).
“I reject this new monthly minimum wage. It’s an injustice for us,” Sajal Mia, 21, a worker in the sector, told AFP. “The authorities have not taken into account the market situation,” he continued, “they only care about their own interests.”
Earlier on Tuesday, violence broke out in Gazipur, north of Dhaka. According to the police, some 6,000 workers demonstrated and set fire to a bus while awaiting the outcome of negotiations on this increase in the minimum wage.
“They set fire to a bus. We fired tear gas to disperse them,” Sarwar Alam, head of the Gazipur police unit, told AFP.
According to police, some 600 textile factories were closed and dozens were vandalized last week in the worst wage protests to hit the country’s major industrial zones in the last decade.
Four factories were burned and roads blocked by thousands of demonstrators. At least two workers died in the violence.
10% inflation
Textiles are a key industry in Bangladesh, the world’s second largest clothing exporter behind China.
Its approximately 3,500 textile factories, employing four million workers, mostly women, produce 85% of Bangladesh’s $55 billion in annual exports.
They supply Western brands and distributors, including Gap, Hugo Boss, Adidas, H & M, the Inditex group of which Zara, Puma and Levi’s are part.
These big names did not immediately comment, but last month, some of them wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, wishing for “a happy conclusion” to the salary negotiations.
“Consultations should seek to increase the minimum wage to a level that corresponds to a level of wages and benefits sufficient to cover workers’ basic needs and some discretionary income,” they added.
According to the unions, workers are suffering hard from inflation, which reached almost 10% in October, and the depreciation of around 30% of the taka against the US dollar since the beginning of last year.
The state-appointed minimum wage committee includes representatives from manufacturers, unions and wage experts. It generally meets every five years to increase the sector’s base salary.
The last increase in this remuneration dates back to December 2018. It then went from 5,000 to 8,000 takas per month. In addition, a garment worker also receives a minimum of 300 taka as attendance bonus.
The demonstrations by textile workers coincided with those of opposition parties demanding the resignation of Mr.me Hasina ahead of elections scheduled for January.