Dhaka, Dec 13 (IANS) The Bangladesh government has pledged to review any discrepancies in the wage revision it had prescribed for the three million-plus workers in the apparel sector after protests in many industrial centres led to the death of four people Sunday.
Police Sunday fired 600 rounds of bullets and 150 teargas canisters to disperse agitating workers in three places. They picked up at least 65 people, including 30 in Chittagong.
Over 225 people were injured in violence during which vehicles were torched and agitating workers clashed with the police.
Home Minister Sahara Khatun promised to review the wage structure in consultation with the stakeholders but warned the workers against violence in which 11 readymade garment factories were vandalised Sunday.
The minister pledged to launch an investigation to expose the conspirators behind the workers’ unrest, online newspaper bdnews24.com reported.
Mohammad Abul Qashem, commissioner of Chittagong Metropolitan Police, said a police constable was shot at but added that ‘a third party’ could have been responsible.
Labour Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain, after a meeting with a delegation of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said: ‘If there is any discrimination over the wage, let the government know and it will be resolved through discussion.’
Industrial violence has been recurring among workers of readymade garment units since only a section of the workers agreed to the revised scales while the other claimed that the wages were actually being reduced.
The readymade garment sector, along with knitwear, is Bangladesh’s biggest money-spinner, having earned $12 billion last year in exports.
However, the twin sectors have been plagued by low wages and poor working conditions, leading to recurring industrial violence.
‘Confusion’ over the new wage structure could be responsible for the current round of agitation, The Daily Star newspaper said Monday.
Asserting that the country has had ‘enough of violence’, it said in an editorial Monday: ‘It is difficult to understand how one’s pay can go down after agreement on an enhanced rate of pay and allowances. While there is no reason for the owners not to implement the new pay scale, it is important for them to explain to the workers what the total emoluments would be and the rationale for it under the new arrangement.’
‘It should be remembered that the pay scale was agreed to by all the parties, and if there is any lacunae it should have been detected before finalising,’ the daily said.
