Factory owners have agreed to implement the 18-point demands of garment workers now agitating for owners to accept their demands blocking roads and abandoning work places.
As per agreement garment, workers existing attendance bonus will increase to Tk 225 per day per person in addition to daily wages. Along with this, the minimum wages announced by the government will be implemented in all factories by next month (October).
Besides, by October 10, factory owners will clear all outstanding wages of workers. A consensus was reached on these issues in a meeting at Bangladesh secretariat on Tuesday. The meeting was attended by four advisors of the government, leaders of the Bangladesh Garment manufacturers and Exporters Association and relevant labour unions.
After the meeting, Labour Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan expressed hope that all the garment factories will start working normally from Wednesday.
Advisor to Home ministry Lieutenant General Jahangir Alam Chowdhury (Retd.), Industry Advisor Adilur Rahman Khan and Fisheries and Livestock Advisor Farida Akhtar were present at this time. Labour and Employment Secretary AHM Sofiuzzaman was also present.
The meeting reached consensus that owners have accepted the 18 demands of workers. These include payment of tiffin bills, implementation of minimum wage in all factories by October 10, payment of ration through TCB and OMS in labour intensive areas.
It also includes payment of overdues of workers by October 10, monitoring business of garments waste to find out formal trader, stop blacklisting of factory workers. Both parties have agreed on monitoring.
Also, harassment cases against workers filed during last year's minimum wage movement were reviewed and owners agreed to resolve the cases, elimination of discrimination in employment, arrangements for payment of compensation to martyrs families in July uprising, formation of committees on Rana Plaza and Tazreen Fashions, day care centers in all factories.
Workers demands also included to stop unfair retrenchment of workers, 120 days maternity leave for women workers, formation of a three-member committee to determine the minimum wage, amendments to labour law, reviewing the provident fund and launching it through employer-employees negotiations and forming a committee to give annual increments based on commodity price situation.
