Editorial
Garment workers' wages
Fully implement the tripartite agreement
With the expiry of the deadline set by the government for implementing the tripartite agreement on the minimum monthly wage of Tk 1,662 for garment workers, it has been found by the BGMEA that 419 garment factories, out of 2420 across the country, have not introduced the new wages. Thus, a huge number of garment workers are yet to be benefited by the tripartite agreement signed following labour unrest in garment factories in May-June last year, which lead to deaths of workers and destruction of valuable assets of garment factories. The owners' failure is doubly unacceptable because even the new wage structure, that was agreed upon by the parties concerned, cannot be considered adequate, given the price hike of essentials. The owners agreed to introduce it, and it is not clear why more than 400 garment units have failed to implement the same. The BGMEA leaders have apparently taken the lenient view that the owners of the defaulting units have no dearth of sincerity; rather they are not financially strong enough to implement the agreement. We believe the workers' cause will be badly compromised if the BGMEA fails to take a firm stand on the wage issue. One can hardly overlook the fact that the monthly wage was downscaled from the workers' initial demand of Tk 3,000 per month, after the owners managed to prevail over the labour representatives. Now, there will be resentment among the workers if the same owners fail to go by their commitment. Nobody wants the crucially important garment sector to be affected by any kind of disruption at a time when maximum productivity of the sector is needed to keep the national economy on the right track. The BGMEA leaders have promised negotiations with the defaulting units and adoption of follow-up measures in case of continuous non-compliance with the tripartite agreement. The BGMEA may have its own procedure of handling a situation, but it has to show due sensitivity to the workers grievances and act quickly, particularly when more than 2,000 units have already implemented the agreement. The government, as a party to the tripartite deal, has a role to play here. Obviously, it must prevent any slide to chaos in the sector and the best way to keep things under control is to give the workers their due -- the minimum wage.
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