Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– The country’s apparel workers have demanded the formation of a new wage board to raise their minimum wage by over 133 percent to BDT 7,000 (US$85.89) from BDT 3,000 ($36.81).
Representatives from several readymade garment (RMG) workers’ bodies submitted a letter to the Director of Labour on Wednesday containing their five-point of demand, including announcement of 50 percent dearness allowance until the new wage structure is formed.
“We want to increase our minimum wage to meet our basis needs,” Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, president Bangladesh Textile Garment Workers Federation, told BBN while explaining the main objective of their demands.
Mr. Ismail also said the real income of the workers have decreased due to higher inflationary presser on the economy.
The country’s inflation as measured by consumers’ price index (CPI) eased slightly in the month of June 2012 on both the annual average and point-to-point basis mainly because of declining prices of food items.
The inflation rate came down to 10.62 percent in June from 10.76 percent of the previous month on the annual average basis while the point-to-point inflation rate felt to 8.56 per cent from 9.15 per cent, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) data.
They also submitted a memorandum to the chairman of the Minimum Wages Board in this connection on the same day.
BBN/SSR/AD-26July12-10:50 am (BST)
