Garment workers can now buy rice at Tk 30 a kg; wage board meets again on 16 November

The government has started selling rice to garment workers at Tk 30 a kilogram. Under a special open market sale (OMS) programme run by the Ministry of Food, rice was sold from 66 trucks in Dhaka, Savar, Dhamrai, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram on Friday (13 November). A worker can buy up to 10 kg a month by showing a factory identity card.

The programme comes as the industrial belts have seen weeks of unrest over a higher minimum wage, and as a newly formed wage board negotiates the new pay structure. Putting together reports from several outlets, here is how the rice scheme works and where the wage talks stand.

Who gets the rice, where and how

According to the Ministry of Food, each truck carries 5 tonnes of rice, and 330 tonnes in total are set aside for sale every Friday. The allocation by area:

• Dhaka city: 6 trucks, 30 tonnes
• Savar: 8 trucks, 40 tonnes
• Dhamrai: 2 trucks, 10 tonnes
• Gazipur: 30 trucks, 150 tonnes
• Narayanganj: 10 trucks, 50 tonnes
• Chattogram (including the city): 10 trucks, 50 tonnes

To buy, a worker must show a factory identity card and sign the muster roll. Sales run in two shifts, from 10am to 12:30pm and from 2:30pm to 5pm, while stocks last. Friday is the weekly holiday in garment factories.

The Directorate General of Food is running the scheme. Every truck has a monitoring officer, and inspection teams from the ministry and the directorate will visit the sales points. The ministry says the sales will continue until further instructions.

What it means for a worker

Buying the full 10 kg a month costs a worker Tk 300. The Business Standard reported that workers at several Gazipur points on the first day welcomed the lower price, but many asked for lentils, edible oil, salt and flour to be added to the list.

In Gazipur, workers from only selected factories were included in the first phase, with numbers due to grow over time. Workers who are unsure whether they qualify should check with their factory's administration or HR department first.

Wage unrest: where things stand

The current minimum wage for garment workers is Tk 12,500 a month, set in 2023. Workers have been protesting this year for a raise. AFP reported that many protesting workers want a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000.

To deal with the situation, the government formed a new minimum wage board for the garment sector on 1 November. The Financial Express and The Daily Star reported that at the board's second meeting, the workers' representative proposed Tk 32,000 a month for entry-level workers. Owners were given time to submit their own proposal. The board meets next on 16 November.

According to AFP, the new wage is expected to be announced in December and take effect in January. The final figure has not been decided yet.

Threat of factory closures

Even with talks under way, fresh work stoppages broke out this week in the Ashulia, Gazipur and Savar industrial zones. The Financial Express and AFP reported that workers clocked in and then walked out without working, and production stopped at more than 100 factories in a single day. Clashes with police were also reported in Ashulia over a road blockade.

Against this backdrop, the factory owners' association BGMEA held an emergency meeting. Its vice president Md Rezwan Selim told The Daily Star that owners were considering shutting factories indefinitely under the labour law if the unrest continued, in which case the rule would be "no work, no pay". AFP quoted BGMEA president Mahmudul Hasan as saying that wage board talks and unrest in factories cannot go on at the same time.

What happens next

• At the 16 November wage board meeting, owners may table their proposal, which will show how far apart the two sides are.
• OMS rice sales will continue every Friday; it remains to be seen whether more areas and factories are added depending on demand.
• How calm the industrial zones stay until the new wage is announced will weigh heavily on export orders and production.