INFORMATION BULLETIN
Garment Workers Trade Union Center
Bangladesh
23/2 Topkhana Road (3rd floor),Dhaka 1000,Bangladesh
Cell phone:88 0 1713360647,+1711262375,
(+01195428759 or +01675021819 Joly Talukder, Organising secretary.)
Fax +880 2 95552333
APPEAL TO TRADE UNIONS, WORKERS AND ALL HUMANITARIAN ORGANISATIONS OF THE WORLD
SUPPORT STRUGGLE OF THE GARMENT WORKERS OF BANGLADESH .
More than three million garments workers in Bangladesh are on strike in support of their demand for taka 5000 (US Dollar 70) as monthly basic wage, other frinze benefits, trade union rights according to law and ILO convention, rights and benefits ensured by labour laws, compliance to regulations ensuring work place safety etc. In the face of sporadic movements of workers in various parts of Bangladesh for better wages and living conditions government formed a minimum wage board which on 28th July declared taka 2000 as basic monthly minimum wage + taka 800 as house rent and taka 200 as medical allowance. Gross minimum being taka 3000.
Garment Workers are paid lowest wages in comparison to most of the other workers employed in Bangladesh.It is also the lowest in relation to Garment Workers of other countries including Nepal . Cheap labour and extreme exploitation is the main source of high profit in Garment sector. In the face of spontaneous uprising of millions of Garment workers on 2nd May 2006, the Minimum Wage Board declared taka 1662.50 (US Dollar 25) as gross minimum wage. Such a low wage compelled the garment workers to live in inhuman conditions. Despite prevailing labour laws almost all workers in the garment sector are deprived of trade union rights. Attempts to form trade union were thwarted by severe repression, dismissal, arrest assault by hired hooligans of employers. Thousands of workers loss their life due to non-compliance of workplace safety regulation causing accident, fire and stampede. Such a situation was the reason for the chronic unrest in the sector. The declaration of the new minimum wage on 25th of July could not satisfy most of the workers, Furthermore the wages in the upper grades were not increased proportionately. Nor deed the Wage Board award mention about minimum wages in the sweater, knit, and piece rate workers. Moreover it was announced that the new sturcture will be effective from November 1, which is unusual. The lideclaration caused resentment amongst garment workers . Many trade union leaders rejected the proposal.Workers of Readymade Garment(RMG) in the Tejgaon industrial area in the capital city of Dhaka went on spontaneous strike on 30th of July. Police attacked peaceful demonstration and many workers were injured and arrested. Late at night, house of several trade union leaders were raided by the police and the advisers of Garment Trade Union Center , the biggest trade union in the RMG sector advocate Montu Ghosh was arrested. False cases were filed against leaders of Garment workers including more than 30,000 workers. Large scale repressions, arrest, assault by police and hooligans hired by employers further agitated the workers. On the 31st of July strike and massive demonstrations spread in all the industrial areas in and around the capital city of Dhaka . A press conference organised by 12 trade unions of garment workers called upon the government and employer to stop repression, release trade union leaders, withdraw warrant of arrest and false cases against activist and workers. The press conference addressed by veteran trade union leader Manzurul Ahsan Khan,also adviser of Garment Workers Trade Union Center GWTC called upon the government and employers to initiate bipartite and tripartite negotiation to settle the labour dispute. Unfortunately the government continued arrest and repressions.The government organised a fake tripartite meeting at the office of the Garment Owners Association which failed to reconsider any of the demands of the workers. The so-called tripartite meetings announced that the factories will run from Monday, 2nd of August, The failure of the government and employers to reconsider demands of the workers and brutal repression further infuriated the workers and the strike struggle and demonstrations spread throughout the country. Police fired on peaceful demonstration of workers, injuring hundreds. Hundreds of workers were arrested. Hired hooligans and muscle men are going to slums and workers colonies to find out activist and beat them up..A reign of terror has been unleashed on the workers.Police is not allowing workers to demonstrate on the streets.Political and other mass organisations are not being allowed by to organise any programme to express solidarity to RMG workers.Print media and electronic media are undersecret censorship not to publish any news about the struggle of the workers and brutal violation of trade union ,democratic and human rights.Mantu Ghose has been taken into police custody on remand for nine days..Every one knows that in Bangladesh people are taken on remand for interrogation and torture.Quite often during such times prisoners are killed and stories are concoted saying that they were killed during cross fire or so called encounter.Many were killed this way during the tenure of last governments.The present government was elected about 17 months back.Despite electoral commitment that there will be no more extra judicial killings,more than 100 people were killed in so called cross fire.
The workers continue to fight despite ruthless repressions.
Garments Workers Trade Union Center and 11 other trade unions of Garment workers have called upon international trade unions, trade unions of different countries, all workers of the world, all humanitarian organisations to come forward in support of the demands of striking garment workers of Bangladesh express solidarity, condemn repression and demand release of Montu Ghosh and other leaders of trade union.
Idris Ali K.M Ruhul Amin
President General Secretary
Garment Trade Union Center , Dhaka, Bangladesh
23/2Topkhana Road,3rd Floor,Dhaka Bangladesh.
Cell Phone 00 88 01674999709,00 88 01713360647
What should be the minimums wage for garment Workers in Bangladesh?
More than 30 million Garment workers of Bangladesh are fighting for Tk. 5000 as minimum monthly basic wage. Their demands include trade union rights according to laws and ILO conventions, all rights and other fringe benefits ensured by lobour laws.
Proposed Minimum (Gross) Declared on 29 July 2010 Tk 3000 US 43.00
Presently Tk 1,662.50 Minimum= US $ 24.00 (Gross) is the minimum.
Demand of the worker isTk 5,000 =72 dollars
Recent World Bank Study:
Wage per head per hour in US Dollars.
Turkey-2.44 dollars
Mexico-2.17
China - 1.88
Pakistan-0.56
India-0.51
Srilanka-0.44
Vietnam-0.44(workers are provided, housing, transport, medical services etc.)
Bangladesh-0.10
Garment workers in Bangladesh are paid the lowest wages in comparison to workers of SAARC countries.
World Bank: US $ 2 required per day to be to live above poverty line.
4 persons in a family
2 dollars x 4 persons x 30 days= 240 dollars per month
240 dollars x 70 Tk (per dollar)= Tk 16,800 pet month
Institute of nutritional food science.University of Dhaka:-
On the average a worker needs 3000 calories a day for work.
This costs Tk. 64.50 x 30 days.= Tk 1935:00
For a 4 member family Tk 1,935.00 x 4 = Tk 7,740.00
Add Expenses due to housing, transport, clothes, education= Tk 14, 240
Government employees.
Recently government has more than doubled the salary and benefits for The President, Prime Minister, Ministers and Parliament members.
Pay scale of Government employees has also been declared.
The lowest scale for peons etc. is Tk 4,100/00-with other allowances it is Tk 7000
Garment workers are employed in productive sector, have to undertake hard physical labour and deserve higher wages.
Present Demand
Bangladesh garment workers have demanded tk 5000.00 (72 dollars) as minimum, basic, monthly wage.
In 1969 during Pakistani rule the government announced a national minimum basic monthly wage Tk 155.
During that time one could get more than 5 mounds of rice(staple food) with this money.
Now due to price hike one needs Tk 7,000 to purchase the same amount of rice.
(Quoted by Socialist Workers Front)
According to CPD
In 2001-12 Export earning of Bangladesh Garment Industry was 4,580 million dollars workers were given 221 million dollars that is 5% of total income. Value addition due to labour was 31% of total price.
GWTUC
News & Information’s.
Garments Workers Trade Union Center , Bangladesh
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Government and Employers crack down on workers and Trade Unions continue.
Trade Union leaders and workers are being arrested, false criminal cases are being lodged against thousands, of workers are being beaten up by police and hooligans, thousands of workers are being dismissed.
Rein of terror is compelling workers and their families to leave the industrial areas for safety.
Advocate Mantu Ghose was arrested by DB Police on July 30 past midnight at 1-00. App.6 cases have been filed against him in different police stations of Dhaka and its suburbs. He has been taken under police remand for interrogation. His where about is not known.
False cases were instituted against;
Ruhul Amin.General Secretary.GWTUC.
Tuhin Choudhury.President.Ashulia Regional Committee.GWTUC.
K.M.Mintu, GS Ashulia RC
M.A.Shahin. President Naryanganj RC
Iqbal Hossain GS "
Besides several eminent TU leaders of other TU’s in the garment sector are being haunted by the police and false cases have been filed against them.
Mosharefa Mishu,Manbubur Rahman Ismail,Bahrane Sultan Bahar,Bajlur Rashid Feroze and many other leaders are wanted by the police.
On August 7 Rupa,Parul,Asma,Parvin,Shahnaj Shanu,all young girls working in garment factories of Tejgaon industrial area were arrested by DB police and taken to unknown place for interrogation. Their pictures were supplied by the employers to the police. They were later brought before TV to state what the police wanted them to say under duress.
On August 2 Mamun and Rabea Begum were arrested from the same area...
In the same area Mojibur was also arrested.
In Naryanganj garment workers Abdul Matin,Md.Rabiul,Billal Hossain, Rejaul Karim , Md. Habibur Rahman,Saidul Islam,Md Rasul and ten others were arrested on August 2 past midnight and August 3.Most of them were working in Liberty and Metro Nit factories.
On August 9 more than 60 workers were handed over to the police by the management of Shed Fashions. These workers were working in the factory at the time of arrest.
Criminal cases have been filed against more than 30,000 workers.
Thousands of workers have been dismissed illegally in violation of the labour laws.
Most of the workers were not paid outstanding wages, and other benefits according to law. Many workers were simply not allowed to enter the factory to work.
The trade unions are not allowed to function.
Several Trade Unions have given objection to the draft declaration of the minimum wage board. They have placed their demands with the employers and the Government. The labour law provides that whenever a labour dispute arise the employers and the government should organize bipartite and tripartite meetings for negotiated settlement. But neither the employers nor the Government called any such meetings.
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