Continued protests by garment workers in Dhaka’s Uttara have raised questions among labour leaders and factory owners, even as the government moves towards forming a new wage board to revise minimum pay in the sector.
Workers have blocked roads in Uttara for five days since last week, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk30,000 and payment of outstanding wages.
Around 50 people, including at least 18 police personnel, were injured in clashes on Saturday.
The protests have continued despite the start of the wage revision process on Thursday, when the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation wrote to the Ministry of Labour and Employment seeking nominations for employers’ and workers’ representatives to the Minimum Wage Board.
Leaders of garment workers’ and factory owners’ organisations argue that continuing the agitation while the wage board is being formed is unjustified. They allege that a group is seeking to obstruct the process and destabilise the government.
Industrial Bangladesh Council (IBC) President Mir Abul Kalam Azad told TIMES that the authorities should investigate to identify those organising the protests despite the government’s announcement of a new wage board.
“It must be established whether those behind the agitation are trying to keep tensions high or put the government in a difficult position,” he said.
Factory owners have also expressed support for revising the minimum wage while questioning the motives behind the demonstrations.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) Executive President Fazle Shamim Ehsan accused an unidentified group of attempting to embarrass the government.
“This group becomes active whenever the BNP comes to power. This time, too, they have started doing these things to destabilise the BNP government,” he told TIMES.
The latest minimum wage for garment workers was announced in November 2023, coming into effect the following month.
Although minimum wages were previously due for revision every five years, the government reduced the interval to three years this year.
Three years will therefore have passed in November since the announcement of the previous wage structure, making a new wage announcement necessary.
Under Bangladesh’s labour law, reconstituting the Minimum Wage Board requires the appointment of a neutral member, an employers’ representative and a workers’ representative.
The ministry has asked employers’ and workers’ organisations to submit three names for each representative position.
On 4 October, the IBC submitted a memorandum to Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, demanding that a new minimum wage for garment workers be announced within October.
The minister announced the same day that the Minimum Wage Board would be formed within the month.
Meanwhile, police suspect that some emerging leaders in the garment sector are organising the Uttara protests.
According to police sources, the demonstrations began peacefully on Monday with a relatively small number of participants. The organisers subsequently increased participation over successive days, with the protests eventually turning confrontational.
Speaking to TIMES, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Uttara Division Deputy Commissioner Md Rezaul Karim said, “The agitation turned confrontational at Nipa Garments and they instigated others. Intelligence agencies are investigating to identify the masterminds, therefore, nothing specific can be said at this moment.”
Asked about progress in establishing the new wage structure, a Minimum Wage Board official said work would begin once the ministry published the names of workers’ representatives in the official gazette.
The official said that although the labour law provided a six-month timeframe for forming the wage board, efforts would be made to complete the process sooner.
The Department of Labour said it would begin verifying the nominees and preparing the gazette after receiving their names.
Director General of the Department of Labour Abdus Samad Al Azad said the authorities originally hoped to complete the verification and gazette process before the Durga Puja holidays.
“I hope the work will be completed immediately after the Puja holidays,” he told TIMES.
