The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) on Sunday (October 8, 2023), based on research of living expenses, recommended minimum wage of Tk 17,568, at the entry level, for export-oriented apparel industries.

Currently, the minimum wage for garment workers, set by the wage board on December 1, 2018, stands at Tk 8,000 – a sum frequently scrutinised, particularly given the prevailing economic crisis.

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CPD said, if the foreign buyers pay an additional 7 cents per apparel product, factory owners will not be under pressure to pay this wage.

The CPD made this proposal at the minimum wage revision, monitoring, and recommendation dialogue for the garment sector. The event was held at a hotel in Dhaka’s Gulshan.

CPD Research Director Khondokar Golam Moazzem unveiled the proposal. He explained that the proposed increase in minimum wage has been made through findings from a comprehensive survey on the garment sector, conducted by CPD.

The research institute said that they are making the proposal after surveying 228 workers in 76 factories.

The CPD research director and senior research assistant Tamim Ahmed presented the keynote paper at the event.

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BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, BKMEA Executive President Mohammad Hatim, Owners’ Representative in Minimum Wage Board and former president of BGMEA Siddikur Rahman, Minimum Wage Board Workers’ Representative Sirajul Islam, among others, were present at the event.

The government set a new minimum wage board on April 10, 2023, tasked with determining the new minimum wage for the RMG industry through discussions at the tripartite level.

The board has already met several times, and the new minimum wage is likely to be finalised within the next month.

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The issue of minimum wage is immensely important, particularly given that it has a substantial impact on the RMG industry’s overall competitiveness and the livelihood of workers. Hence, it is crucial to examine the current structure of wages and to determine a new wage in a way that allows workers to have a fair minimum wage.