Cops probing instigators behind RMG unrest

Urging the readymade garment workers to go back to work, Superintendent of Police (SP) in Dhaka Sha Migan Shafiur Rahman today said police are investigating people who are acting as instigators of the unrest in the sector.

"Many workers have already gone back to work. There will be no problem if they go back to work," said the SP while talking to the journalists at a press briefing in Jamgora of Dhaka around 10:30am, our Savar correspondent reports.

For instigating unrest in the RMG sector some perpetrators have been detained and police will take action against them, he said.

Without giving any particular number he added that several of cases have been filed in this regard.

WHAT WERE THE WORKERS DEMANDING?

The workers alleged that the monthly wage in the seventh grade increased to Tk 8,000 from Tk 5,300 as per the latest gazette published by the government last year. But, the salary of the workers in other grades did not increase at the same rate.

The salary hike for the entry-level workers was more than that of their senior operators, who have been working for more than seven to eight years. The new wage has been effective from December 1. Major disparity in the salary hike was noticed in the third and fourth grades as their salaries were not raised like that of entry-level workers.

In most of the grades, other than the seventh, only Tk 500 was raised in the new salary structure, whereas an entry-level worker's salary had increased by Tk 2,700 at one go.

THE LATEST POLICY DEVELOPMENT

After nearly one and half months of protests, the government has revised the pay structure for the garments industry workers giving a raise between Tk 15 to Tk 786.

This revision was the raise from the new wage board put into effect from December 2018.

Meanwhile, apparel industry workers had threatened the workers to shut down the factories if they do not return to work from Monday.