The first meeting of the newly formed wage board to determine the minimum wages of workers in Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) sector began on Wednesday amid labour unrest and demands for higher salaries.

The meeting started at 11am on November 4 at the Minimum Wage Board’s conference room in Segunbagicha, Dhaka. Senior District Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman, chairman of the board, is presiding over the meeting.

According to a press release from the board’s industrial section, the meeting aims to formulate recommendations on minimum wage rates for workers and employees in the garment industry in accordance with the Labour Act.

The government formed a separate wage board for the garment sector on November 1 while restructuring the Minimum Wage Board, amid growing worker dissatisfaction over salary demands.

ABM Shamsuddin, a director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), is representing employers on the new board. Bablu Akhter, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation, is representing workers.

Under Section 139 of the Labour Act, the government can take steps to determine minimum wages in an industry following an application from employers, workers or both sides.

A recent amendment to the Labour Act has also reduced the interval for reviewing and resetting minimum wages from five years to three years.