They demand review of Wage Board’s proposal

Apparel manufacturers and exporters have threatened shutting down their factories unless the government reviews the recommendation of fixing minimum monthly wage at Tk5,300 within next 15 days.

Their warning came a day after a government-formed wage board proposed the amount, up from existing Tk3,000 per month.

“This is a suicidal proposal, which is void of reality, unacceptable and irrational,” Atiqul Islam, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told a press conference in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Rejecting the proposal outright, he said: “the industry would lose competiveness if the proposal is implemented and we are not ready to pay anything over Tk4,250.”

The amount was proposed by the factory owners earlier. The workers have been asking for a Tk8,100 monthly wage.

Before the press conference, BGMEA had a meeting with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) as they decided to appeal to the wage board for reviewing the recommendation.

“We will appeal against the proposal on Wednesday and we will request for accepting the wage structure proposed by us,” said Atiq. He said the garment makers would meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and seek an exit policy from the government if their recommended salary of Tk4,250 is not finalised.

He said the garment sector will lose 37% competitiveness if the board recommended salary is implemented as the cost of production increased by 13% over the last few years.

Pointing out different problems currently being faced by the RMG makers compared to competitors China and Vietnam, he said the business environment what China and Vietnam have is not in Bangladesh.

“The cost of doing business here is higher than the two countries. For example, they get undisrupted electricity supply but we do not,” he said.

The leaders of RMG makers demanded reducing bank interest rate to a reasonable level, taking steps to cut prices of gas and electricity in industrial zone, reinstating of bargaining rules for apparel makers with insurance companies and prevention of taking additional charges by the inland container depot from the exporters.