The Malaysian government will raise the minimum wage from RM 1,500 to RM 1,700, effective February 1, 2025, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Presenting Budget 2025 in the Dewan Rakyat on Friday, Anwar announced that small employers with fewer than five employees will be given a grace period, delaying the implementation of the new wage until August 1, 2025, reports Malaysian daily The Star. Malaysia to accept 18,000 Bangladeshi workers who missed deadline: Asif Nazrul Anwar, who also holds the position of Finance Minister, added that the Human Resources Ministry will release new guidelines on starting salaries for key professions. These include RM 2,290 for industrial and production technicians, RM3,380 for mechanical engineers, and RM2,985 for professional creative content designers. In addition, the Prime Minister said the Progressive Wage Policy, introduced in June as a pilot programme, will be fully implemented next year, backed by a RM200 million allocation aimed at benefiting 50,000 workers. Anwar also announced that RM250 million will be allocated to the People's Income Initiative (IPR) to combat extreme poverty. "Next year, RM250 million will be dedicated to increasing the participation of individuals from the extreme poor group in the IPR programme to improve their income," he said.  

Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has written to President and CEO of American Apparel & Footwear Association, Stephen Lamar, seeking support in terms of responsible purchasing practices. “To ensure uninterrupted and smoother operation in the industry, it is important that prices of all goods which will be shipped from 1 December, 2023 are duly adjusted/ up-charged covering the increment in wage component,” BGMEA President Faruque Hassan wrote. The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is a national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn product companies, and their suppliers, which compete in the global market. From now onward, the BGMEA president said, all business negotiations and deals will have to be made adhering to the new minimum wage policy. Read: Owners are free to close their garment factories until vandalism ends: BGMEA “Therefore, I would humbly request you to kindly pursue the AAFA members to collaborate with their Bangladeshi suppliers with due empathy and consideration,” the BGMEA chief wrote in his letter. “With every effort and action we take, we mean to complement our long term goal, which is to grow mutually and sustainably. We are working with our government relentlessly to ensure more favorable environment for business,” Faruque said. “You are following the improvements made and progress by the government to create better infrastructure and policies supporting envisioned growth and efficiency. I am sure with your continued support and collaboration we will continue to thrive," said the BGMEA President. In his letter to Lamar, the BGMEA chief said the minimum wage in 2023 for garment workers was declared by the government on November 7. Read: BGMEA provides financial assistance to families of deceased workers The declaration was made based on the proposal submitted by the Minimum Wage Board, and was widely consulted and agreed by the stakeholders including workers’ and employers’ representatives, he said. As per the new minimum wage, the gross minimum monthly wage of the 7th grade workers has been set at Tk 12,500, equivalent to around USD 113.63 – a 56.25 percent increase of the gross wage while the basic wage has gone up by 63.41 percent. The new minimum wages comes at a time when the global economy is going through an unprecedented situation, so is Bangladesh’s economy, said the BGMEA chief. “The RMG industry in Bangladesh is feeling the heat of this crisis, especially with soaring inflation, all our input costs have increased significantly including fuel, gas, electricity, transportation,” he said. Read: BGMEA ready to implement new pay structure govt announces by Dec: BGMEA President From the first of July this year, Bangladesh Bank has increased interest rates which made trade and investment finance more costly. “You are aware that since 2013, the industry had to make a huge investment to ensure international standard workplace safety, which we have done diligently despite all the difficulties,” he wrote. “Now to align with global climate action agenda, our factories are making further investment to reduce GHG emission and be more resource efficient. Not only that, for ensuring workplace safety, comfort for our workers and to reduce fatigue, factories are upgrading machine, process and production method,” said the BGMEA president. “Through all these efforts, Bangladesh has emerged as a reliable, sustainable and one of the most preferred sourcing destinations,” Faruque said, adding that all these initiatives and investments have impact on the business, in relative and absolute term. Read: BGMEA seeks NBR support to sustain RMG industry's global competitiveness amidst ongoing challenges “Now, with the increase in the minimum wages, this industry has taken the challenge to ensure better living standards of the workers while maintaining competitiveness,” he said. The raise in the minimum wage, especially 63.41 percent raise in the basic wage, leads to higher benefit for the workers in terms of overtime benefit, earned leave encashment, festival bonus and other allowances, Faruque said. “The implementation of the new wage structure would exert a huge financial impact on the factories. This will be challenging for many of our factories to implement the new wage in the current economic and financial circumstances,” he wrote in the letter. However, Faruque said, ensuring decent living standards of the workers is a top priority for them, as well as for global brands and retailers. “Since we have accepted the new minimum wage, we will ensure implementation of it, and we need your support in terms of responsible purchasing practice,” the BGMEA president wrote in the letter to the CEO of American Apparel & Footwear Association.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan on Sunday (November 12, 2023) said the owners of the RMG units can keep their factories closed under the law to protect industry and property until the vandalism is stopped and law enforcement agencies are able to ensure adequate security. “Every entrepreneur has a constitutional right to protect his own industry and properties from outsiders,” he told a media briefing at BGMEA office at Uttara. The BGMEA chief repeated  that for the sake of the country and the industry, to protect the employment of the worker siblings, if the working brothers and sisters do not work in any factory, leave the factory without working, vandalize the factory, then the factory authorities can keep the factory closed under section 13 (1) of the Labor Act. Garment workers’ protest: 130 factories in Ashulia, Savar, Dhamrai closed Faruque said as there is currently less work in many factories in the garment sector, buyers have stopped placing new orders; they have asked to stop new recruitment. “New appointments will be made when the situation improves,” said the BGMEA president. Faruque urged the government of Bangladesh to identify those who are plotting against this industry and take action. RMG worker injured in clash with law enforcers dies at DMCH “Also give us adequate security to run industries. Politics and economics complement each other. Remittance earning from the expatriates is experiencing a slowdown at the moment. In this situation, the garment industry, one of the main sectors of export earnings, deserves special attention,” he said. The government on Tuesday announced Tk 12,500 as minimum wage for entry level RMG workers, raising it by 56.25% from the existing one. State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian announced the new wage structure for RMG workers which will be effective from December 1. RMG workers unions have rejected the offer and instead asked for an increase of nearly Tk 23,000 a  month. Many workers resorted to street protests clashing with police and vandalizing factories. Owners have announced indefinite shutdown of over 130 factories mainly in Gazipur and Ashulia areas. Govt announces Tk 12,500 as minimum salary for RMG workers The unrest for higher wage has left one female worker dead in police firing, dozens injured and arrested. Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Industrial Police Md Zakir Hossain Khan on Saturday said they smell a rat behind the unrest in the readymade garment (RMG) industry in Gazipur. "The government has already announced wages and our notion is that a group is instigating them [RMG workers] to do movement. We are identifying those who are provoking them [demonstrating workers]," he said. Police use tear gas shells as RMG workers protest in Gazipur

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. Read: Lack of awareness a serious risk on pollution: CPD 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. Read: Bangladesh will need $10 billion annually to import primary fuel for power generation: CPD 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. Read: It is the ‘profession’ of TIB and CPD to find loopholes in budget, Hasan Mahmud says 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.