BGMEA proposed pay hike

The discrepancy between demanded pay hike by workers’ unions and what has been put on offer by BGMEA could not be greater. While BGMEA believes the 20 per cent hike in minimum wage is “logical”, it has been trashed by workers’ representative bodies and indeed, deemed unreasonable by some members of the Wage Board.Though BGMEA representatives have stated that it is an initial offer and there is room for bargaining on finalisation of salary, the claim that Bangladesh is losing its competitive advantage in global garment trade is simply not correct. According to a recent study by McKinley & Co., Bangladesh retains the silver medal in the global RMG sector when it comes to big production volume. While Bangladesh occupies the No. 2 position after China, that pattern appears to be changing as global retailers move more production to Bangladesh in the near term. But that success comes at a cost—in the form of low minimum wage. But there are other ways to cut production cost than paying the workers poorly.Though it has become a national pastime to sing praise at how important the RMG sector is to the national economy in earning precious foreign exchange, the latest pay hike offer goes to show just how little workers’ welfare matters to BGMEA. With inflation hovering around 19%, the new hike turns meaningless. We certainly hope the Wage Board will take into consideration the fate of millions of workers who help churn the wheels of production to earn the $20 billion per annum.