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Workers’ Earning in Non-farm Sectors

Good for some, bad for the others, worst for women

Rejaul Karim Byron
Rickshawpullers, male garment workers and workers of real estate and railway are luckier than those engaged in other non-farm sectors -- their real earning increased while the rest's dropped in the second quarter of2007.
But worst off are the female workers who found their pay cheques shrinking.
According to a Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) recent survey, the daily real wage rate of farm labourers also increased.
The findings came from the BBS second Quarterly Wage Rate Survey (WRS) report on 36 industrial
sectors released in August. The bureau started such surveys last year to determine changes in real wages or earnings of the non-farm workers and to assess the labour market situation.
The survey revealed that women draw less than their male counterparts.
The monthly real income of
male workers has dropped by 0.32 to 4.73 percent during the April-June '07 period compared with January-March '07.
Construction, restaurant and private healthcare workers are the top losers. A construction worker's monthly earnings dropped 4.73 percent to Tk 4,627, a restaurants
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worker's 4.18 percent to Tk 3,821 and a private healthcare worker's 4.11 percent toTk3,867.
Females' situation is even worse. Their monthly real income has dropped by 0.30 percent to 16.50 percent. Cement, wooden furniture and cotton textile workers are the top losers here. A female cement worker's monthly earning dropped 16.50 percent to Tk 4,325, a wooden furniture sector worker's 4.74 percent to Tk 2,648 and a cotton textile sector worker's 4.30 percent to Tk 3,180. Female workers’ gross income also dropped.
A look at the real figures will reveal the discrimination against women workers. The average gross income of a male food and beverage sector worker was Tk 3,310. But a female worker got only Tk 1,833. In shrimp processing sector, a male worker earned Tk 3,484 but a female gotTk 2,633.
Not only this. Males even made advancement in some sectors. His monthly real income has increased 1.16 percent in garment, 0.94 percent ion railway and and 0.99 percent in real estate sectors.
But a female garment worker’s average real income decreased 0.96 percent. Female sewers and embroiders experienced a major shock as their incomes dropped by 3.09 percent. Interestingly, female pattern makers and cutters earned
1.98 percent more.
The Daily Star talked to Dr Zaid Baktli about why male garment workers' income rose. He reasoned that the knitwear sector witnessed fabulous growth where most are skilled males. They naturally got more pays.
Females are less skilled and lack bargaining capacity.
Among the day labourers, real incomes of rickshawpullers and shoe shiners marked a slight rise. The daily real wage of a rickshawpuller was Tk 144 during January-March 2007, which increased to Tk 145 during April-June. A shoe shiner's daily real wage increased to Tk 126 from Tk 124.
A BBS high official explained that these two groups could adjusted their wages keeping with essentials' price hike.
But daily real earnings of male day workers in general have slumped by 2.99 percent. Agriculture sector workers received 1.19 percent higher income but non-farm sector workers' reduced by 5.92 percent. Gross income of agriculture sector workers also increased 5.57 percent.
Dr Uttam Kumar Deb, head of research, the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said April-June is the Boro rice cultivation season and sp the workers could bargain higher wages.