RMG owners urge workers to return to work

Readymade garment (RMG) industry owners have urged

workers to return to work and suspend their ongoing protests until the newly-formed wage board announces its final decision on minimum wages, stressing the need to maintain uninterrupted factory production.

They said the issue of increasing workers' wages and benefits should be

resolved through the established institutional process, taking into account

both workers' interests and the financial capacity of the industries.

Former Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) President and incumbent Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) Administrator Md Fazlul Hoque told BSS that the issue of wage increases should be settled through a formal process, urging all concerned parties to remain patient until the wage board reaches its final decision.

He said the previous provision required a wage board review every five years.

When the last wage board was formed in 2021, it decided on an annual

increment of five percent for five consecutive years.

However, the interim government later reduced the review period from five

years to three years and raised the annual increment from five percent to

nine percent. The owners' side accepted the decision, which favoured workers, despite the challenging circumstances at the time, he added.

Noting that the three-year period is scheduled to expire next January, Fazlul

Hoque said wage increases should not be settled through rallies or protests

but through the prescribed process.

He stressed that the financial capacity of industries must also be considered

alongside workers' demands, saying that raising wages without assessing the

industry's ability to bear the additional costs would not be a sustainable

approach.

Expressing respect for workers' hardships, he said all problems should be

resolved through established procedures.

The government-formed wage board includes two representatives each from the workers' and employers' sides, along with government representatives.

"Therefore, all concerned parties should have confidence in the board's

decision," he added.

Regarding the number of factories closed amid the unrest, Fazlul Hoque said

different figures were being reported. However, he noted that isolated

processions in Uttara had provided some indications of workers' discontent

eight to 10 days before the current situation emerged.

He called on all concerned parties to exercise patience and responsibility to

restore normalcy, saying that waiting for the wage board's decision would be

the most appropriate course of action at this stage.

Meanwhile, Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, executive president of the current BKMEA board and president of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, said the government had already formed a wage board to determine workers' salaries.

He said the actual reasons behind the ongoing protests should be identified

and addressed through discussions and coordination among the relevant

stakeholders.

Following the formation of the wage board, it is important to clearly

understand the workers' demands and the reasons behind the unrest, he said, stressing responsible roles from the government and all other concerned parties.

He also called for coordinated initiatives by relevant agencies to identify

the root causes of workers' discontent and maintain a normal working

environment in industrial areas.

Source: BSS