Bangladeshi workers take the fight for a living wage to the streets
21 October 2009
The National Garment Workers' Federation, an independent, democratic and progressive trade union federation in Bangladesh and a War on Want partner organisation, formed a human chain outside of a national press club to mark the International Poverty Alleviation Day.
Amirul Haque Amin, president of the NGWF, stated that the monthly minimum wage must be raised to TK 5,000 a month so that workers can feed themselves and their families. The current minimum wage of workers is Tk 1,662, which is roughly £15.
Along with petitioning for changes to the minimum wage, the NGWF also took aim at multinational business practices, whose race-to-the-bottom tactics drive down wages and lead to poor working conditions.
The NGWF has long been at forefront of efforts to lobby the government to reconvene the country's Wage Board to review the minimum wage structure. To ensure that the needs of workers are met, the review would need to take into consideration the views of trade unions and civil society organisations.
War on Want supports the NGWF's campaign for the rights of workers, and has worked in partnership with the organisation for over a decade.
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