Trade union leaders of the garment sector yesterday urged the government to announce a "decent" minimum wage for workers as soon as possible to prevent workers from engaging in further agitations. 

Workers of different garment factories in Ashulia, Gazipur and Savar areas have been agitating over the last few days demanding that the government announce an "acceptable" salary as soon as possible.

The leaders of the trade unions and federations of trade unions said the agitations were also in demand of salary arrears.

Nearly 100 leaders from different federations and trade unions of workers spoke about the latest situation at a meeting with Begum Monnujan Sufian, state minister for labour and employment, at the Srama Bhabon in Dhaka.

Workers are agitating as they cannot meet their monthly expenses because of high prices of basic commodities in the markets.

They believe that the salary has already been increased as the six-month tenure of the current wage board ended on September 9.

However, the tenure has been extended up to November 30.

The new wage will come into effect from December 1 and the workers will get the salary under new wage structure in January 2024.

Moreover, a section of workers was continuing agitations as they think that the minimum salary increase proposed from the owners' side from Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,400 was insufficient.

The union leaders also said some factories have sacked some workers for participating in the movements and shut down operations without any prior notice.

Sometimes, the garment factory officials hurl abusive words at the workers, beat them and cut portions of their salaries for the slightest of offences during work, the union leaders also said.

Also, a section of people was disseminating rumours and instigating the workers to get involved in the agitations, the union leaders said.

They demanded that the government and garment factory owners reopen factories that have been closed as soon as possible and pay the workers' arrears soon.

"We are expecting the salary to be announced timely as the board is working on it," said Sirajul Islam Rony, workers' representative in the minimum wage board formed for the garment workers on April 9 this year.

Rony already proposed Tk 20,393 at the wage board as the minimum salary for the workers although the union leaders are demanding between Tk 23,000 and Tk 25,000.

Workers are disappointed and it is expected that the minimum board will announce the salary very soon to pacify the workers, said Montoo Ghosh, president of Garment Sramik Trade Union Kendra, a federation of garment workers.

The workers are agitating following the rules and it is also expected that they will be controlled carefully, he said.

Workers are also agitating because of instigation by "outsiders", said Morium Akhter, general secretary of the central committee of Bangladesh National Labour Federation.

Shajahan Khan, a member of the standing committee on the labour and employment ministry, suggested that the union leaders inform the workers that the board was working on it.

The salary has not been fixed yet as the time is until November 30, said Sufian.

She suggested that the union leaders convince the workers to stop their agitations as the board was working on the issue.