BGMEA President Siddiqur Rahman came up with the allegation at a press conference at the BGMEA Bhaban conference room.
He alleged that the National Garment Workers Federation has been spreading fabricated and false information through leaflets that the basic wage of workers has not been raised in the announced structure to divert all’s attention to a different direction.
Siddiqur Rahman claimed that the federation’s leaflets compared the minimum wage between 1994 and 2006 tactfully avoiding that of 2013.
“The federation also stated that the percentage of 7th grade workers is 3-5 while the actual number is 20 percent of the total workers which is supported by a study conducted by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD),” he said.
The BGMEA chief said the wage of workers has been increased by 381.35 percent though export and demand in the RMG sector decreased after 2014 that saw around 1,200 local factories to shut down in the past four years.
“We’ve accepted the new minimum wage fixed by the wage board despite various adversities. It’s a matter of sorrow that a vested quarter of labour leaders and NGOs is trying to create instability in the country by spreading propaganda and instigating workers,” he said.
Mentioning that nearly 1 crore people are employed in the RMG sector, Siddiqur said the spread of such instigating information will send a wrong message to the foreign countries and damage the country’s image.