The first meeting of the minimum wage board formed to revise wages for readymade garment workers may take place on Thursday, with the board expected to issue a meeting notice by Wednesday.

A member of the wage board told Samakal that the board was likely to hold its first meeting on Thursday, as two consecutive government holidays follow. Delaying the meeting beyond Thursday could further prolong the process, the member said.

The member, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added that labour leaders and other stakeholders had been putting pressure on the board because no meeting had been held during the three days since its formation.

Asked about the schedule, Minimum Wage Board Secretary Raisa Afroze told Samakal that a notice for the first meeting on wage revision in the readymade garment sector would be issued either on Tuesday or Wednesday.

No meeting notice had been issued as of Tuesday, making Wednesday’s announcement increasingly likely.

The government formed a six-member minimum wage board on Sunday to revise wages for workers in the readymade garment industry. Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury announced the board at a press conference at the Secretariat that morning.

The board is chaired by Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfakur Rahman. Its other members include representatives of both factory owners and workers.

The owners’ representatives are ABM Shamsuddin, a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), and Asif Ayub, joint secretary-general of the Bangladesh Employers’ Federation.

The workers’ representatives are Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, and Babul Akhtar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF).

Dhaka University Professor Mosleh Uddin Ahmed has been appointed as the board’s independent member.

The board will recommend minimum wages for workers across all grades. Based on its recommendations, the government will announce the revised wage structure and publish it in an official gazette.

The most recent minimum wage for garment workers was set at Tk 12,500 in December 2023, with workers receiving the increased wages from the following month.

The minimum wage in the garment sector has generally been revised through a wage board formed every five years. However, an amendment to the Labour Act was passed in Parliament on April 10, reducing the wage revision interval from five years. The source report ends before specifying the revised interval.