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September 22, 2006

How low can you go?

Sign on today and support a monthly minimum wage of Tk3000 (Euro34.37) for Bangladeshi garment workers. Garment workers have been participating in rallies and demonstrations across Bangladesh since the beginning of September to protest against the failure of the Bangladesh Wage Board to come up with an acceptable minimum wage for the garment industry. The CCC supports the workers in their demand for a wage that allows them to live in dignity. Your support is needed to pressure the Bangladesh garment factory associations to set a wage that will genuinely improve the lives of these workers. We also ask you to send a message to the international brands and retailers buying from Bangladesh to voice their support for workers' demand to be paid a living wage and put this into practice.

Background - Minimum wage currently just Euro10.75 per month

The current minimum wage for garment workers, fixed around twelve years
ago, stands at 930 Bangladeshi Taka (Tk), equivalent to just Euro10.75
or US$13.63 per month - one of the lowest in the world. Whilst garment
workers and their supporters have been demanding wage increases for
several years it wasn't until May 2006, following the outbreak of
massive labour unrest by workers unable to tolerate the extreme
exploitative conditions any longer, that any kind of action was taken by
the Bangladesh government.

One of the main demands of the protesting workers was for immediate
action on the issue of wages. In response to this the Bangladesh
government announced the formation of a tripartite Minimum Wage Board
for the garment industry on May 31st 2006.

The Wage Board, which includes representatives of the garment workers'
unions and the Bangladeshi garment industry, first met on June 12th 2006
and was asked to recommend a new pay scale for garment workers within 90
days. Neither the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers' Association (BGMEA)
nor workers' representative on the Wage Board signed a proposal sent by
the Board on September 12th to the government to set the wage rate for
entry level workers at Tk1,604 in the first year up to June 30 leading
to Tk2,117 in the third year starting from July, 2008. The workers'
representative felt this rate was too low, but the BGMEA felt it is too
high. The Wage Board proposal must be kept in circulation until
September 28th for opinions and objectives, and the government will take
another month for its approval.

Workers are demanding Tk3,000 (Euro35.53) as the minimum wage for
entry-level workers. The CCC has compiled five key arguments as to why
we believe a wage increase to Tk 3000 is absolutely essential.

1. The garment industry has grown enormously since 1994 when the current
minimum wage was set and so should the minimum wage.

2. In real terms, wages have gone down since the last minimum wage was
set twelve years ago.

3. The current minimum wage does not even cover the cost of food for one
person.

4. The proposed wage doesn't meet the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and therefore
violates basic human rights.

5. Increasing the minimum wage by itself won't make the Bangladeshi
garment industry un-competitive

Find more explanation of these arguments below.

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Action Request: Bangladeshi workers need your support, take action now!

1. Register your solidarity with the Bangladeshi garment workers'
demands by signing the online petition at:
http://www.bgw-info.net/solidarity/frmsolidarity.php

2. Write to the garment factory owners' associations BGMEA and BKMEA and
ask them to agree to the workers' demand (see sample letter below).

3. Write to brands and retailers buying from Bangladesh, asking them to
state their willingness to continue sourcing from Bangladesh and ensure
that their prices and purchasing practices allow factories to pay at
least Tk3,000 for entry-level workers. Buyers should urge the
government to reconsider the latest proposal of the Wage Board in favour
of a Tk3,000 rate. Meanwhile, irrespective of the decision of the Wage
Board the buyers should also make sure that workers producing their
garments earn a living wage as stipulated in many codes of conduct;
according to most calculations this would be considerably higher than
the Tk3,000 workers demand. (See sample letter below.)

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Bangladesh wages: Five arguments why garment workers' wages must be
increased
September 2006

'I get Tk 900 for a month of hard labour which is not enough to even
cover my food bills,' said a worker at Tejgaon.

'Can you show me one worker who runs his family without a hitch with
the money he gets?' asked Sagar, who works in SS Sweater for a monthly
salary of Tk 950, .

1. The garment industry has grown enormously since 1994 when the current
minimum wage was set and so should the minimum wage

When the minimum wage was last adjusted in 1994 the value of the
ready-made garment (RMG) sector was US$1.5 billion, up from $68,000 in
1978. Between 1994 and 2006, this grew to US$7.04 billion, four and a
half times the value in 1994. Factory owners are now predicting that
the industry will grow even further: "We're confident we can now keep
the growth momentum intact and double our exports to more than 15
billion dollars in the next five years," S. M. Fazlul Hoque, president
of the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association told
reporters in Dhaka . After 25 years of operation the industry is one of
the biggest export sectors in the country, making up 75% of Bangladesh's
export earnings.

Whilst the industry has grown, wages have remained the same, even though
minimum wage levels set for garment workers in 1994 were low to begin
with, far below the cost of living, and far below wages in other
labour/industrial sectors.

Garment factory owners and international buyers have profited from the
garment industry and seen their incomes rise - workers have not.
Garment workers, the poorest players in the industry, should no longer
have to subsidize its growth.

2. In real terms, wages have gone down since the last minimum wage was
set twelve years ago

Jakir Hossain of Bangladeshi think-tank Unnayan Onneshan, showed at a
roundtable on 'National Minimum Wage: Poverty Reduction and Social
Justices for Workers' on August 24, 2006, that due to currency inflation
and increase in commodity prices the minimum wage should be Tk4,286, if
it is to meet the basic needs of workers .

In 2005, the Bangladesh government declared a minimum wage of Tk 2450
(basic wages without allowances and benefits) for workers in state-owned
industries. There is no reason why garment workers shouldn't get the
same wages as other workers.

3. The current minimum wage does not even cover the cost of food for one
person

A recent calculation by a Bangladesh NGO states that whilst the costs
may vary depending on where a worker works and lives, a single garment
worker needs to spend a total of Tk2,150 - 3,350 just to fulfil basic
needs: Tk350-700 for house rent, Tk1,000-1,200 for food, Tk200-300 for
transportation, Tk100-200 for washing, Tk150-250 for buying cloths and
cosmetics, Tk150-200 for entertainment and recreation and Tk200-500 for
medicine.

According to M. K. Shefali, executive director of Nari Uddug Kendra:
'For an adult living in Dhaka city the minimum nutrition requirement for
basic living is 1,805 calorie per day. At today's costs of living this
means Tk1,400 (US$21.54) per person per month for food alone. Many
garment workers (particularly female) do not earn this amount, which is
severely affecting their health as well as productivity."

The Bangladesh Institute for Labour Services (BILS) conducted a study in
summer 2006 into a living wage, which was calculated by the research
team in various ways. The main consideration was the minimum cost of
living of a family of four, which was calculated to be Tk 4,800 per month .

4. The proposed wage doesn't meet the United Nations Millennium
Development Goal to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and therefore
violates basic human rights

One of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals is to eradicate
extreme poverty and hunger. The first target for this goal is to halve,
between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less
than one dollar a day. A person who is earning less than US$1 a day is
considered to be living in extreme poverty without adequate food,
shelter, medicine, etc. By fixing the minimum wage at anything less
than Tk2,114 , garment workers will be forced to live in poverty, which
amounts to a serious violation of basic human rights. The current Wage
Board proposal does not meet this standard, nor does the Tk1,300
proposed by BGMEA

5. Increasing the minimum wage by itself won't make the Bangladeshi
garment industry un-competitive

The Bangladesh minimum wage for garment workers is amongst the lowest in
the world. Even tripling the minimum wage will still keep Bangladesh
garment workers amongst the lowest paid in the world. Indeed improving
conditions for workers including wages is essential for increasing the
competitiveness of the Bangladeshi garment industry. As the MFA Forum
in May 2006 in Dhaka, Bangladesh concluded:

"There is now acknowledgement that compliance with national law and
international labour standards is a vital component of international
competitiveness and the sustainability of the industry".

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Sample letter to the BGMEA / BKMEA

Fazlul Hoque, President, BGMEA
Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association
FAX: 880-2-8113951
E-mail: info@bgmea.com,
bgmeanet@agni.com

Fazlul Hoque, President, BKMEA
Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association
Fax: 880-2-9673337
E-mail: info@bkmea.com
fhoque@bangla.net

[Date]
Dear Mr Hoque and Mr Hoque,

Re: Garment Factory Workers' Wages

I am writing to express my support for the Bangladeshi garment workers
who are calling for a minimum wage of Tk3,000 per month based on the
following arguments:

1. The garment industry has grown enormously since 1994 when the current
minimum wage was set and so should the minimum wage.

2. In real terms, wages have gone down since the last minimum wage was
set twelve years ago.

3. The current minimum wage does not even cover the cost of food for one
person.

4. The proposed wage doesn't meet the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger and therefore
violates basic human rights.

5. Increasing the minimum wage itself won't make the Bangladeshi garment
industry un-competitive

The Bangladesh minimum wage for garment workers is amongst the lowest in
the world. Even tripling the minimum wage will still keep Bangladesh
garment workers amongst the lowest paid in the world. Indeed improving
conditions for workers including wages is essential for increasing the
competitiveness of the Bangladeshi garment industry. As the MFA Forum
in May 2006 in Dhaka, Bangladesh concluded

"There is now acknowledgement that compliance with national law and
international labour standards is a vital component of international
competitiveness and the sustainability of the industry" .

I call on you to take immediate action to see that the minimum wage for
garment workers is increased to Tk3,000.

For your information I am also contacting the brands in my country that
produce garments in Bangladesh to convey my concerns and request that
they take action. Please keep me informed of the steps you take to
follow up on this serious matter.

Yours sincerely

[Your name]

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Sample letter to brands
You can use this letter to send to brands in your country you think may
be sourcing from Bangladesh.

Posted by cat at 11:50 AM