Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at an emergency general meeting at their office yesterday also condemned the workers' leaders for 'provoking' the workers without considering the real situation.

They questioned who would take the responsibility of the workers if the factories are shut down and the workers become unemployed as a result of 'unrealistic wage hike'.

The BGMEA members gave the association's executive committee full authority to take any decision including closure of the factories to create pressure on the government to review the proposed pay scale.

Reading out the decisions, BGMEA President SM Fazlul Huq asked the members to do an impact assessment of their factories if the proposed pay structure is implemented and send it to the association office.

The meeting also decided that the owners will send letters to the Minimum Wage Board, informing the real situation of their factories to the board.

The wage board has declared a recommendation unilaterally, which it is not possible to implement, Tipu Munshi, immediate past president of BGMEA, said at the meeting.

Hurried declaration of a pay scale was made to gain cheap popularity and accepting the pay scale would be suicidal for the garment owners, he said.

Annisul Huq, BGMEA representative on the wage board, said a worker can survive somehow with an income ranging between Tk 1,900 and Tk 1,950 a month.

As the owners are not in a position to pay as per the need of the workers, they offered to pay a package of Tk 2,000 including a two-hour overtime, he said.

Around 50 per cent of the factories will be out of the business within six months if the proposed wage structure is implemented, Huq said, adding that as the workers have their own rights, the owners also have the right to close their factories.

BGMEA Vice-president Lutfor Rahman Matin said those who have declared an unrealistic wage structure will be responsible for the factory closure and making the workers unemployed.

"Buyers come with a fixed CM (cutting and making) charge and ask whether we accept their offer. They tell us directly that they would shift their orders elsewhere if we are not ready to accept their price offer," said Khalilur Rahman, owner of KDS garments.

"Who will pay the salary of the workers -- the government or the Minimum Wage Board or the owners?" Rahman posed the question.

It is true that the owners made money when there was quota system and the price was good, said garment owner Muzaffor U Siddiqui.

But it is also true that they have invested their money in expansion of the industry, which has created more employment, he added.

Buyers rush to Bangladesh not because they love this country but for cheaper prices of Bangladeshi apparels, he said.

Urging the government to fix only the minimum wage, he said the owners will negotiate with the workers for fixing salaries of other grades on the basis of their efficiency.

The owners are not bound to implement a three-tier pay scale for the workers, rather they would shut their factories if it is imposed unilaterally, said garment factory owner Shah Alam.

Ariful Huq, another factory owner, said he will need to pay Tk 72 lakh more if the proposed pay scale is implemented in the first year.

"I made a profit of Tk 70 lakh last year. Now who will pay the rest two lakh?" he said, adding, "It seems that joining a garment unit as an employee will become more profitable than running a factory."

Foreign buyers tend to come with a reduced CM, Sardar Liakat Hossain said, adding that it would be better for the owners to shut their factories as they do not know how to adjust with a situation that would force them to implement over 100 per cent wage hike.

Factory owner Bahauddin Md Yossuf said banks and insurance companies will also be forced to close their operations if the proposed pay scale is implemented.