Garment workers protest against new wage structure

Several thousand garment workers went on the rampage in different parts of Dhaka on Friday, protesting a wage structure providing a minimum monthly pay of Tk3,000 against their demand of Tk5,000, as reported by the Bangladeshi newspaper, Daily Star.

The protesters damaged glass walls of more than 200 business establishments and seven vehicles during the demonstrations. At least 20 people ,including five policemen, were injured in the series of clashes with the ready-made garment (RMG)workers, police and witnesses said.

Witnesses said around 4,000 workers from different nearby factories gathered near Nabisco at Shahid Tajuddin Ahmed Sarani in Tejgaon Industrial area, around 8:30am, while over  1,000 workers gathered under Mohakhali Flyover at Chairman Bari around the same time.

Although the police put barricade, and tried to disperse the demonstrators, the insufficient number of law enforcers, compared to more than 5,000 agitating workers, could do nothing to control the situation.

Aggrieved workers started damaging glass walls, signboards at many business centres, banks and offices, located in the prominent areas of Dhaka.

Vehicular movements in most parts of the city were interrupted for around four hours, since 8:30am. They demanded that  a reviewed structure, in acord with their expected wages, should be implemented on  August 1, 2010.

It should be noted that the government on Thursday announced Tk 3,000, up from the present Tk 1,662, as minimum monthly wages for garment workers.

Labour and Employment Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain made the formal announcement of the new wage structure for around 3.5 million ready made garment (RMG) workers in the country, which will take effect from November 1, 2010.

Garment worker leaders, however, expressed disappointment over the new pay scale,. as they have been bargaining for Tk 5,000 for years.

Mushrefa Mishu, president of Garments Sramik Oikya Forum, said they would not accept the new pay structure, as it is too little to maintain a family these days. For the last few years, the country has been witnessing violence in the readymade garment sector. Many factories were damaged while production has declined putting the fate of the industry in jeopardy.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 31^st, 2010.