Minimum wage terms already expired in 17 industrial sectors and another three are set to hit their deadlines by December, prompting wage-board recommendation for a review under the freshly amended labour law.
The Minimum Wage Board on July 09 sent a list of 20 sectors where minimum wage-revision duration has already expired or would end by this yearend, a labour ministry official has said.
"The latest amendment to the labour law reduced the wage-revision cycle from five to three years," he said, adding that the ministry is working on this.
He wouldn't give further details.
The wage-determination periods, according to the list, expired for 17 sectors. They include type foundries, aluminum and enamel, plastics, rerolling mills, privately owned road transport, rice mills, construction and wood, security services, sawmills, printing presses, shrimp, fishing trawler industries, private jute mills, rubber, homeopathic factories, bidi and tea gardens.
The wage-determination periods for three other sectors would expire between October and December this year, which include cinema halls, hosiery and readymade garments.
Among the sectors, minimum wage was last set in 1983 for type- foundry industry, officials said, adding that labour ministry several times asked the Department of Labour to send the names of the owners and workers' representatives of the sector to review the minimum wages.
But the department failed to select the representatives as the sector no longer exists.
The minimum wages for aluminium and enamel was last set on September 24, 2018 while plastic, rerolling, privately owned road transport and rice mills were set between June and July 2020.
Construction and wood sector reviewed wages in August 2021 while wages for security services, sawmills, printing presses, shrimp, fishing trawler and privately owned jute mills were reviewed in-between February and December of 2022.
From January to August of 2023, minimum wages were fixed for four sectors-rubber, homeopathic, bidi and tea garden, according to the list.
The list also shows three years have already elapsed for those 17 sectors while the duration for cinema hall, hosiery and RMG sector would come to an end in October, November and December this year respectively.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Cha Sramik Federation has demanded immediate formation of a wage board for tea workers following the expiry of their existing wage determination.
On August 16, in a letter to the labour minister, the federation demanded a minimum daily cash wage of Tk 500, saying that the amount should reflect inflation and the
cost of a decent standard of living.
Pressure is mounting from garment workers' trade unions and labour alliances across Bangladesh for an immediate revision of the minimum wages, with labour leaders urging the government to urgently reconstitute the Minimum Wage Board.
They say the current minimum monthly wage of Tk 12,500, fixed in December 2023, is no longer sufficient to ensure a decent standard of living for garment workers and their families amid high inflation, rising prices of essentials and mounting living costs.
IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC), Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) Bangladesh Committee, Bangladesh Garments and Sweaters Workers Trade Union Centre and Garment Workers Employees Unity Council (G-SKOP) urged immediate formation of a wage board to review the minimum wages for garment workers.
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) President Mohammad Hatem, meanwhile, told the FE that the timing of the next wage board depends on how the revised law is interpreted.
He said if the previous five-year revision cycle is considered, the new wage board would be due in 2028, as the last wage was fixed in December 2023.
"However, if the latest amendment is considered, it should be in November 2028, as the law came into effect in 2026," Hatem said, arguing that laws cannot be applied retroactively.
"On both considerations, the wage board for the garment sector is scheduled to be formed in July or November in 2028," he said.
Asked about his view, president of Bangladesh Plastic Goods Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BPGMEA) Shamim Ahmed said owners were struggling to pay workers in line with the existing wage structure due to the prevailing economic situation, mostly due to the energy crisis.
"No new wage board for the plastics sector should be formed at present unless the situation changed or improved fully," he said.
Bangladesh Jute Mills Association secretary-general Abdul Barik Khan also echoed the plastic-sector leader's views.
"Jute mills are also facing difficulties due to antidumping duty imposed by India and high bank interest while nearly a decade has passed since jute act was enacted but its rules are yet to be formulated," he said.
Also, the mandatory jute-packaging law has yet to be fully implemented, he said while opposing new wage board for the sector to review the minimum wages at present.
