Will our RMG workers get an acceptable living wage?
Over the past year, we have been demanding that Tk 25,000 be the monthly minimum wage for ready-made garment (RMG) workers. Some organisations have demanded Tk 23,000. So, when the owners proposed Tk 10,400 as the minimum wage, we were shocked. This means that not only are they unwilling to increase the wage, but they are in fact trying to lower the wage. If we take into account the current rate of inflation and the yearly increment that the workers are supposed to get, the minimum salary of a worker should be more than Tk 10,400. And considering the market prices of daily essentials, it is impossible for RMG workers to survive on such a meagre amount. Naturally, this proposed wage has infuriated the workers; they have been demonstrating across the country rejecting this amount proposed by RMG factory owners and demanding at least Tk 23,000.
The reaction of the owners to the workers' legitimate demand, however, has been totally unacceptable. They are not only ignoring the workers' plight but are also attacking the protesters with the help of police and local goons. But the government and the owners are now saying that the workers are involved in vandalism and are creating chaos. We feel it is not right to accuse the workers in this way, because it was the owners and the wage board who were supposed to finish their task within six months and declare the minimum wage for the RMG workers. But they failed to do so on time. And it is due to their delay that the workers are in such a situation now. We have seen in Mirpur how the cadres/goons—lathiyal bahini and helmet bahini—of the ruling party attacked the peaceful protesters. The death of RMG workers Imran and Rasel Hawlader during the protests have only infuriated the workers more. They are still pushing for their logical demand. We all know that police cannot shoot at anyone without the instruction of the higher authorities. Why should the workers have to die for demanding a fair wage?
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Under the circumstances, we hoped that the owners would at least propose a new wage in the meeting of the wage board that was held yesterday. But instead of doing that, they asked for more time. This exposes the way in which they view and treat the workers. When workers across the country are agitated because they can barely survive on the salary they are getting, the owners are looking to spin conspiracies. Should they not be meeting the workers' demands instead, so that the latter can survive during this period of high inflation? We are totally disappointed that no good outcome came out of yesterday's meeting. This has further enraged the RMG workers. Meanwhile, those of us who are vocal about the workers' rights are also being threatened. Do we have any other option, though, but to express our concerns and protest, given the situation?
Under the circumstances, we hoped that the owners would at least propose a new wage in the meeting of the wage board that was held yesterday. But instead of doing that, they asked for more time. This exposes the way in which they view and treat the workers. When workers across the country are agitated because they can barely survive on the salary they are getting, the owners are looking to spin conspiracies.
What options do our workers have besides demanding for a better wage for their survival? Currently, the price of a kilogram of onions is higher than the price of a kilogram of guavas. The prices of all other essential items, including rice, lentils, flour and eggs, have increased abnormally over the past five years—some of them by 100 percent while others by as much as 120 percent. At present, workers cannot even afford to buy eggs—the cheapest source of protein—for their families. In the past, when I went to the areas where RMG workers lived, I saw them buying small fish or broiler chicken at least on Fridays. Now, they seem to only buy leafy greens because that is all they can afford to eat. During the Covid-19 pandemic and after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, when other sectors incurred losses, the growth of our RMG sector was steady. Currently, it brings in around 84 percent of the country's total foreign exchange earnings. Do the workers, who are the driving force behind this success, deserve such miserable lives?
We, from the Mojuri Briddhitey Garment Sramik Andolon, are reviewing the prices set by the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB). We have found that if 1-1.5 people earn in a four-member family, they need to earn at least Tk 40,000 to meet their minimum requirements. Other research, carried out using scientific methods, have also found that a family of four will need at least Tk 25,000 to even barely survive. We have raised these issues with the members of the wage board hoping that they would consider these while declaring or proposing the new minimum wage. But sadly, they did not take this research into consideration.
Given that the RMG workers cannot even afford to buy food to survive, how will they pay for their treatment? If a worker is infected with dengue now, will she or he be able to buy green coconuts or eggs or even pay for her/his treatment? And how will they pay for their children's education with this meagre pay?
So, I would like to ask the owners: what do you want? Do you want the workers to go hungry or go without treatment or even get shot if they speak up voicing their needs?
We think the demand that the workers have raised—for a minimum salary of Tk 23,000-25,000—is very logical and acceptable. But since the owners' proposal was unbelievably low, it has created a feeling of uncertainty and rage among the workers. Even the deaths of two workers have not been able to stir the owners. We would like to ask the owners and the wage board to declare a new minimum wage as demanded by the workers. The faster they can do that, the sooner our workers will be able to go back to a normal life.
As told to Naznin Tithi of The Daily Star.
Taslima Akhter is president of the Bangladesh Garment Sramik Samhati and a photographer. She can be reached at taslima_74@yahoo.com.
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