B Mirror Desk : Since January, the government has been raising the yearly pay raise for garment workers. In the past, their pay increased by 5%. It was raised from 4 percent to 9 percent following the movement, and this change took effect in January. Despite this, the rate is less than inflation.
Inflation in March was 9.35%, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Real wages have actually fallen when wage growth is less than inflation.
Last November, a new compensation structure for the leather industry was revealed, which is separate from the garment industry. But according to labor officials, nobody has put it into practice. No announcement of higher wages for employees in other areas has been made by the Ministry of Labor and Employment. However, the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies (BILS) estimates that both formal and informal sectors employ 76.5 million people in the nation. Of the 142 sectors and sub-sectors, 43 have announced minimum wages, while the remaining sectors do not. Workers in these industries are not legally protected.
On August 8, 2024, the provisional administration came into power following the major rebellion in July. Many working-class people took part in the rebellion. Shopkeepers and employees made up a large portion of the dead. According to labor leaders, workers’ standard of living was lowered during the previous Awami League government due to the rise in the cost of everyday commodities. Inflation has reduced their purchasing power. It was anticipated that the new administration would go above and above for the workers. However, that didn’t occur
May 1st will be observed as the Great May Day in such a scenario. Today marks a significant milestone in the global achievement of working people’s equitable rights. Workers in Chicago, USA’s Hay Market were shot by police on this day in 1886 as part of a protest calling for fair pay and a maximum eight-hour workday. This resulted in the deaths of many workers. They established the demand for an eight-hour workday by making sacrifices. The day has been observed as May Day ever since.
“Workers and employers united, we shall rebuild this country” is this year’s theme.
To commemorate the day, labor organizations and the Ministry of Labor have launched a number of projects. “Once upon a time, the slogan was ‘Workers of the world, unite.'” Labor Advisor Brigadier General (Retd.) M Sakhawat Hossain stated this at a press conference held yesterday at the Secretariat by the Ministry of Labor and Employment in honor of ‘Great May Day and National Occupational Health and Safety Day 2025.’ It has now changed. “Employers and workers of the globe, unite” will now be the theme. Good employers now view their employees as their children.
Ministry sources claim that the draft law does not require employees to receive gratuities or provident funds. Additionally, the freedom to establish trade unions is not upheld. The International Labor Organization’s (ILO) guidelines for establishing trade unions are not included in the proposed draft labor law.
The government’s announcement of a 9 percent pay increase is exclusive to the apparel industry, Babul Akhter, general secretary of the Industrial Bangladesh Council (IBC), an international coalition of labor organizations, informed the media. The majority of factories haven’t even done that. There is disappointment in this. Babul Akhter also thinks that the current administration is not doing enough to carry out the majority of its pledges, such as resolving employee harassment issues. He claimed that the working class’s requests for changes to the labor legislation are still mostly disregarded.
