‘New wage board coming for garment workers’

The government will form a new wage board for the garment sector in response to the apparel workers' continued unrest in the previous four consecutive days, Lawmaker Shajahan Khan said today.

The former shipping minister announced the government's plan at a press conference at the Sromo Bhaban in Dhaka.

Khan, also a former union leader, said his government will provide the workers with ration cards soon, with which they will be able to buy some basic commodities at lower prices.

Before holding the press conference, the former minister held a tripartite meeting involving union leaders, government high-ups and factory owners to discuss the latest situation of the labour unrest in the garment sector and way forward.

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Khan has been assigned to hold the emergency meeting and press conference regarding the current labour unrest as the State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian, secretary to the ministry concerned and other senior officials of the ministry are now in Switzerland's Geneva for a meeting of the International Labour Organisation.

However, Khan did not say in details when and how the wage board will be formed and how the ration cards will be given to the workers.

He only said he will inform the government's plan of giving ration cards to the workers and new wage structure for the garment workers to Monnujan Sufian when she returns from Switzerland.

The minimum wage for the garment workers was last hiked to Tk 8,000 in December of 2018.

The minimum wage was fixed at Tk 5,300 in 2013, up from Tk 3,000 in 2010.

It was Tk 1,662.50 in 2006, Tk 940 in 1994 and Tk 627 in 1985.