Only 68% RMG factories implemented new minimum wage till Sep '24: Study

Around 68% of ready-made garments factories implemented the revised minimum wages as of September 2024, according to a recent study.

Sustainable Textile Initiative: Together for Change (STITCH), in collaboration with Brac University, led by Shahidur Rahman, Professor of Sociology, conducted the study titled "The Implementation  Status of the Minimum Wage 2023 & Its Impact on RMG Workers." 

The research included  representative data from a sample size of 385 factories and 1113 workers, including  EPZ and non-EPZ factories in Dhaka, Chattogram, Gazipur, Mymensingh,  Comilla, and Narayanganj.  

The 32% of the sample that had not implemented the revised minimum wages all belonged to non-EPZ factories. 

Of the non-compliant factories, 22%  partially increased wages for their workers. 

The research also revealed that 100% of the sampled EPZ  factories and the sampled large factories had implemented the revised minimum wages.  

Furthermore, 80% of the total compliant factories were members of business associations, including the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). 

The research findings were unveiled in a multistakeholder event at a hotel in Dhaka, where key sectoral representatives from the industry were present, including the government, worker federations, business associations, RMG factories, brands, labour rights organisations, academia, among others. 

Abil Bin Amin, executive director at ETI Bangladesh, opened the event, followed by Ruben Korevaar, policy adviser at Mondiaal FNV, who presented an overview of the STITCH programme and  rationale of the study.  

Mamunur Rashid, chairman (senior district judge) of the Bangladesh Minimum Wage Board,  attended the event as the chief guest. 

Speakers at the event highlighted the need for more research on areas such as industrial costs, workers' living standards, changes in expenses due to inflation, to enable evidence-based discussions on wage setting among relevant sectoral actors. 

Another major emphasis had been to  strengthen the capacity of the Minimum Wage Board itself to ensure representative and fair wage setting that is done timely and periodically, leaving breathing room for industries to adjust.  

Currently, the Minimum Wage Board does not hold the authority to appoint board members or even choose sectors to focus on, limiting their scope, the speakers observed.