No minimum wages in 34 industries

The government is sitting on a proposal of the minimum wage board for fixation or review of legal minimum wages for a dozen industrial sectors having several million employees.

Workers in the industries are deprived of a rightful increase in their minimum wages, even for decades, according to records of the board.

Sources in the labour ministry told New Age the minimum wage board in May submitted a list to the ministry saying that workers in at least 34 industrial sectors, having a huge number of employees and contributing substantially to the country’s economy, were yet have any legal minimum wages.

In another list, the board also informed the government that minimum wages in at least 12 industrial sectors had not been reviewed in 14 to 28 years although such a review should be done every five years.

Important industries where no legal minimum wage has as yet been set are poultry, power and hand loom, garment accessories manufacturing, ceramic, conch shell processing, jewellery, cement, electronics, publications, paper, cable, beverage, brick, cigarettes, audio-visual products, ball pen, newspaper, printing, dairy farm and cap manufacturing.

Workers in telecoms products manufacturing industry, department stores, wax manufacturing, fertiliser manufacturing, community centre services, cycle spares manufacturing, engine boat and trawlers, launch manufacturing, generator manufacturing, shop operation, photo studios, dry fish processing, bamboo and cane products, fish processing and paint manufacturing do not also have legal minimum wages.

‘After discussions with stakeholders and researches conducted, the broad has worked out 34 industries where workers are deprived of legal minimum wages,’ the board’s chairman Iktedar Ahmed said.

The minimum wage board was set up in 1959 and it has so far set or reviewed minimum wages for 43 industrial sectors.

Bangladesh is a signatory to the UN Declaration on Millennium Development Goals targeting at worker’s daily pay of at least $2.

But although labour laws stipulate the minimum wage in any sectors should be reviewed every five years but wage of at least 12 sectors have not been reviewed for 14 to 28 years where legal minimum wages remain at less than half a dollar a day or lesser.

Minimum wage for plastic industry workers was set in 1986 at Tk 521 ($7.4 a month at the present exchange rate) and rubber industry workers at Tk 550 ($7.8).

In rice mills which employ a million workers where many are females, the minimum wage was set at Tk 495 a month in 1984 and it has not been revised for 26 years.

In 1986, the minimum wage for jute press workers was set at Tk 751 and for homeopathic unit workers at Tk 750 a month. Match factory workers had their minimum wage reviewed last in 1986 at Tk 751.

Cold storage workers had their wage reviewed last in 1993 at Tk 1,680 and aluminium industry workers at Tk 1,320, shoe factory workers at Tk 1,385 and tannery industry workers at Tk 1,500 in 1994.

Inland water transport industrial undertaking workers had their minimum wage reviewed last in 1993 at Tk 1,680.

‘Lack of responsibility among the stakeholders, including labour organisations, has delayed timely review of minimum wages,’ said Iktedar. ‘The board has been helpless regarding review of minimum wages in the absence of worker-centric trade unionism and for lack of sincerity of the government, stakeholders and people’s representatives. And the workers continue to be at the mercy of employers.’

He said board could not form any wage review commission unilaterally unless the government would refers the matter to the board and labour organisations and other stakeholders would need to pressure the government to do so.

Ikteder in his two years’ tenure has, however, coordinated the fixation or review of minimum wages in 16 industrial sectors, including apparel industries.

Syed Sultan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies, said it is inhumane of the state not to set legal minimum wages in sectors employing several millions workers.

In its election manifesto, the Awami League promised elimination of gender bias in wages, setting national minimum wage and formation of a permanent wage board.

Creation of scopes for wage employment in industries and establishment of worker’s right to trade unionism in keeping with the International Labour Organisation convention were promised.