Online Desk: Amid the ongoing labour troubles in different industrial zones, apparel makers said they will place a new wage proposal with a higher pay structure to the Minimum Wage Board next week.

“The factory owners’ representative has agreed to propose higher wages for the workers than were previously proposed,” Liaquat Ali Mollah, chairman of the board, told reporters after its fifth meeting on Wednesday.

To this effect, he said the apparel manufacturers will make a written proposal at the next meeting to be held in the second week of November.

In a separate development on Wednesday, top apparel makers and exporters warned of imposing “no work, no pay” if the labour tumult continues, leading to production disruption or factory closure.

After the Minimum Wage Board meeting, the board chairman said the workers’ representative will consider their next course of action once the new proposal by the owners is submitted.

Until then, the stakeholders — owners, workers and officials from the government regulatory agency — called on workers to return to the production lines and refrain from vandalism or anarchy, saying that the new wage structure will come into effect on December 1.

The Minimum Wage Board chairman said that both the owners and workers have agreed to abolish the top two grades from the existing seven-grade wage structure.

Earlier on October 22, the owners’ representative at the board, Siddiqur Rahman, proposed a minimum monthly wage of Tk 10,400, while the workers’ representative, Sirajul Islam Rony, proposed Tk 20,393.

Differing from the proposals, labour rights groups demanded a minimum wage of between Tk 23,000 to Tk 25,000.

Ready-made garment workers have been protesting for the past nine days since October 23, rejecting the owners’ proposal.

The workers’ agitation continued in different industrial zones on Wednesday, with several hundreds of workers taking to the streets in Mirpur 1, 10 and 11, Gazipur and Ashulia to demand a wage of Tk 23,000.

As many as 50 garment factories were forced to shut their operations at Gazipur, Ashulia and Savar on Wednesday following labour unrest.

With these, more than 150 factories remained closed for the last couple of days due to the workers’ agitation, it was learnt.

At a separate meeting, apparel makers reiterated that they would accept the wages to be fixed by the wage board after negotiation.

Regarding the ongoing labour unrest, the apparel makers said that they would close factories in accordance with labour law provision 13 (1), which states “no work, no pay” if they cannot run factories due to labour unrest.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), raised questions about the ongoing labour unrest at a time when the wage hike process is ongoing.

“This is unacceptable,” he said at a meeting at the BGMEA headquarters in Dhaka. “Why is the unrest happening when workers are getting salaries and other benefits as per the existing wage board?”

Hassan said union leaders were not responsible for the chaotic situation. He said that the BGMEA had provided evidence and video footage to the government and law enforcers to identify the miscreants and take legal action.

“For the sake of the country and workers, if the workers quit their duties, the owners will be allowed to shut their factories as per section 13 (1) of the labour law,” Hassan said.

He requested the concerned agencies to ensure security at RMG as well as all other manufacturing industries for the sake of the country’s economy.

Former BGMEA president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin said the country’s RMG sector is facing tough times due to a number of external and internal issues, including the burden of non-performing loans.

He also said that outsiders, such as some research organisations that underestimate RMG factory owners, do not understand the actual scenario of the sector.

Echoing the tone of most RMG factory owners present at the meeting, he said, “We have reached a consensus today that there will be no work, no pay.”

Mr Mohiuddin said the government must take all necessary steps, however harsh they may be, to ensure the safety of factories and people’s lives.

He also urged the labour ministry to play its due role in ensuring the safety and security of industrial units.

Referring to the labour minister, Mr Mohiuddin said, “This is your solemn duty. If you cannot discharge this duty accordingly, resign from your position.”

BGMEA Senior Vice President SM Mannan Kochi said outsiders and miscreants were responsible for the unrest and attacks on factories. “The attacks are a conspiracy against the country’s development.”

Other BGMEA members said they faced serious trouble operating their businesses due to prevailing corruption in different government agencies, including customs.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment Workers’ Solidarity, in a statement issued on the same day, said owners were playing an “irresponsible” role by not announcing the new wages at the fifth meeting of the wage board.

It also condemned the death of two workers and alleged that owners were ignoring the workers’ demands.

Workers are protesting because they are aggrieved by the owners’ proposal and cannot meet their daily needs due to the high prices of essentials, the statement said.

In a separate statement, the Clean Clothes Campaign strongly condemned the violent repression of garment workers demanding a wage increase to Tk 23,000. It called on the government to immediately ensure that workers’ right to protest is respected.