Bangladesh
Garment Workers Final gazette of minimum wages of garment workers published
Dhaka, Dec 21: The final gazette has been published fixing the minimum wage of garment workers at Tk 12,500.
On Wednesday, the government published the gazette fixing the wages of garment workers and employees in four grades. Before this, the government published the draft gazette of minimum wages on November 12. If anyone has any suggestions or objections on this wage rate, they were asked to report it in writing to the Chairman of the Minimum Wage Board within 14 days.
Earlier, the minimum wage was fixed at Tk 12,500 in combination with the owners and workers representatives. State Minister for Labor Mannujan Sufian announced this wage in the meeting room of the Ministry of Labor and Employment at the Secretariat on the afternoon of November 7. At that time, the state minister said that the minimum wage of garment workers has been announced on the instructions of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The minimum wage will be increased to Tk 12,500 from the earlier Tk 8,000. Besides, there will be five percent annual increment for them. The new wages will be effective from December. In the draft gazette, the wages of garment workers were fixed in five grades, but in the final gazette, one grade was removed and four grades were given. At the same time, in the final gazette, the wages in Grade-1 and Grade-2 have increased.
According to the draft gazette, after one year of working with the minimum wage adjustment, the workers will get an increase in wages on an annual basis at the rate of five percent of the basic wages. In subsequent years, the incremental rate will again be increased at the rate of five percent of the basic wages. Workers working on furun based (piece rate) wages in sweaters and other garment industry sectors will also get the benefit of wage hike at the rate of five percent of the basic wages on an annual basis.
