RMG workers get their way. Wages to be hiked

01 May '10

2 min read

The garment workers of Bangladesh will receive increased wages within the next three months.

Following workers' mass protest wherein they jammed the country's main highway, a Minister announced the wage hike for garment workers.

A new wage board of union representatives, manufacturers and industry experts, has been set up to propose new basic pay levels, in view of the mounting costs of living due to inflation, for around 2.5 million garment workers of the country.

With a minimum wage of around 1,700 taka i.e. 25 dollars a month, Bangladesh is recognized as one of the world's cheapest manufacturing country. These wages were fixed in the year 2006 after a series of deadly protests.

Around 35,000 garment workers blocked the country's main highway connecting capital Dhaka and port city of Chittagong as a protest demanding entry-level salaries at around 5,000 taka. And they said that they will continue the protest until their demands are not fulfilled.

Last year out of $15.56 billion exports from the country, about 80 percent share was accounted for by the garment sector. There are around 4,500 garment factories in the country, providing jobs to about 40 percent of country's overall industrial workforce.

Wages that are being offered to the garment workers are below the poverty line earnings and are the main cause of unrest within this sector.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

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