27 July 2018 FEMNET and the Clean Clothes Campaign condemn employers' proposal on minimum wage for workers in Bangladesh and call on companies to act Trade union representatives demonstrate for a minimum wage of 16,000 Taka on 27.7.2018. Photo: © NGWF The Bangladesh Clothing Industry Employers' Association (BGMEA) has shown extreme contempt for the well-being of workers and their lives outside the factories. On Monday, July 16, BGMEA (Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association) proposed setting the minimum wage for workers at 6,360 Taka (approximately €64). This amount does not reach nearly a subsistence wage level in Bangladesh, nor does it remedy the neglect of the required legal minimum wage increase in the last 5 years. The current minimum wage of 5,300 Taka (approximately €54) was set in 2013. This was widely criticized, because it is not even enough to meet the basic needs of the workers. This minimum wage consists of a basic wage (3,000 Taka = about 30€) plus payments for transport, medical expenses and food. The 2013 amendment provides that the basic wage component will be increased by 5% each year. However, workers reported that they have been deprived of this annual increase since 2013. This puts the BGMEA proposal in an even worse light. ‘We strongly condemn the BGMEA proposal and the entire wage revision process so far. The proposed increase in the basic wage from 3,000 to 3,600 Taka proposed by employers is nothing more than a catch-up to the legal requirements - with a delay that has cost workers hundreds of dollars in recent years," says Ineke Zeldenrust of the international Clean Clothes Campaign. A worker who was appointed to the Wage Board by the government and contrary to the will of the trade union representatives as a worker's representative had submitted a proposal for a wage increase to 12,020 Taka (approximately €122). This proposal contradicts the far-reaching consensus among trade unions, including the Bangladeshi council of the global trade union federation IndustriAll, that the new minimum wage should be set at 16,000 Taka (approximately €161). The Clean Clothes Campaign demanded in April companies with significant production orders in Bangladesh per letter to take a pioneering role, by: publicly support the demands of the workers for the 16,000 Taka minimum wage. In the longer term, they are committed to buying goods from Bangladesh even after the wage increase. are willing to increase their FOB (Free on Board) price to make the wage increase practically feasible. express public concern about the repression and harassment of trade union leaders. So far, several companies have pledged their overall support for a wage increase, but they have not taken all the necessary steps mentioned above. “If companies want to support the sincere and fair engagement of workers in the negotiation process, they must now raise their voices. Silence means inaction!”, says Ineke Zeldenrust and adds: "Companies have a responsibility to ensure that the workers who produce the clothes they sell receive a living wage. We once again call on all companies that produce in Bangladesh to comply with their own standards and to act before the minimum wage body meets again at the end of August."
