Female Labourers Get Half the Wage

Female labourers at a brick field in Lalmonirhat does the same amount of work for the same amount of time as male workers at the field, but they get half of what is given to a male worker. Rabeya Begum, 35, a female worker reports, “We get Tk 350 to Tk 400, whereas a male labourer is paid Tk 800 to Tk 1000 per day.”

Sultan Mahmud, 46, a male worker said that the women at the field are treated like assistants to male workers, though they do equal work and sometimes even more work than the men. Mabiya Begum, 42, a woman labourer said, “If we place our demand for same wage to the brick kiln owner, he tells us to give up our job. Later we don’t dare to raise our demands again.”

Moniruzzaman Monir, General Secretary, Bangladesh Sangjukta Sramik Federation in Lalmonirhat said that they are trying to get all the women brick labourers together to raise their voice against unequal wages at brickfields.

Source: The Daily Star