Improving the life of workers is essential for the garments sector to flourish

Tasmiah Nuhiya Ahmed of DOT  : 
The recent weeklong protests in the apparel hub that took place in Gazipur, Ashulia, Savar and Mirpur as the garment workers alleged that the minimum monthly basic wage in a grade had been increased to 8,000 taka from 5,300 taka but in other grades pay hikes were not reflected proportionately. (1 U.S. dollar equals to about 84 taka). However, the newly formed government has come up with an announcement to revise wages in six grades for garment workers in response to this. Hence, it seems like the unrest in the country’s largest foreign export earning sector might have been partially resolved.
However, there are weaknesses in trade unions in the sector, which have been exposed by the way things have been handled from the start of negotiations for the 2018 wage board to the lead-up to the protests.
It is well understood that any crisis in the industry should be resolved through a joint effort from union leaders, factory management and the government and the workers are to be conveyed the message. It helps put down any unrest in garment sector. However, the latest spell of protests against disparity in wages was not guided by the union leaders and it was evident when the demonstrating workers refused to return to work despite repeated calls from the leaders.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Office in Bangladesh expressed that ILO is encouraged by the Bangladesh government’s decision to revisit the minimum wages for ready-made garment workers through an agreement reached on Sunday, 13 January 2019 by a special tripartite committee set to examine and resolve the issue.
“We acknowledge the genuine efforts of all parties, led by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, to work towards setting minimum wages at an appropriate level and to reach a consensus. Through this tripartite process of dialogue confidence is being built and we call upon all parties to help the industry resume its activity,” says Tuomo Poutiainen ILO Country Director for Bangladesh.
ILO also expressed that establishing a strong wage policy for the country and regular evidence-based adjustments through full consultation with all social partners would contribute to inclusive growth, boost industry competitiveness and strengthen social protection for workers, as well as decent work and productive employment for millions of Bangladeshis.
Social dialogue at both bipartite and tripartite levels is vital for harmonious industrial relations and solid economic growth and inclusive development in increasingly complex societies. It is often called on to perform key functions of building consensus, promoting fairness and maintaining social cohesion while designing and implementing social and economic policies, which can then be articulated with other policies.
Many countries in the region have, in recent years, worked through social dialogue mechanisms to allow workers and employers, at national, sectoral and enterprise levels, to negotiate wages and terms and conditions above statutory minima via collective bargaining mechanisms.
Khushi Kabir, a human rights activist said Our Time that the new government should take every possible measure to ensure that workers’ rights are duly protected as per the law and their lawful demands are fulfilled.
Barrister Al Amin Rahman, a labour law expert in this regard said that the wages of the worker should be determined considering the socio economical perspectives keeping in mind inflation, increase of cost of living & staple foods etc. It has to be kept in mind that government has already introduced Workers Profit Participation Fund (WPPF) which the owners have to share with the employees. While keeping in mind the increased cost, it has to be also parallelly considered that WPPF is also increasing net receivable income of the workers. It is the job of the government to ensure WPPF is implemented properly so that workers are fairly compensated in this aspect as well. Currently, WPPF rate is 5% of the net profit as per 2015 Labour law rules. Not to make it a double standard, the studies should also have a comparative analysis with other government sector jobs regarding how much is the increase in wages for fourth class employees.
We appreciate all the measures already undertaken by this new government and our Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to sort out this matter; however; we would also expect that these efforts will continue to run until the issues are fully resolved. We must remember that improving the life of workers through proper balancing is essential for the garments sector to flourish.
The writer is Executive Editor, Daily Our Time.