Trade union and rights organisations rejected on Tuesday the proposals made by garment factory owners and the workers' representative.

A bargaining agent of the workers demanded Tk 16,000 as the minimum monthly wage for each at the entry-level.

The Bangladesh Sanjukta Garments Sramik Federation (BSGSF) made the demand at a press conference held in the city.

The BSGSF and other rights groups have long been demanding "realistic" wages of Tk 16,000 based on the cost of living, said its general secretary Bazlur Rahman.

Citing a research study conducted by Oxfam, he said the wage for the garment workers is the lowest in Bangladesh compared to top seven garment exporting countries.

"Currently the minimum wage in Bangladesh is $ 67 which should be $ 252," Mr Rahman noted.

"But it is a matter of great regret that workers' representative has proposed Tk 12,020 and owners' representative proposed Tk 6,360," he added.

All the workers became frustrated over the proposals, he said.

"So we, BSGSF, reject the proposals and call for Tk 16,000 as the minimum monthly wage," he said.

Owners and a worker representative on Monday proposed Tk 6,360 and Tk 12,020 respectively as the minimum monthly wage for an entry-level apparel worker.

Md Siddiqur Rahman and Shamsunnahar Bhuiyan representing the owners and the workers respectively submitted their wage structures to the wage board in its third meeting.

A rights group alleged the wage board sought time extension for the wage review process, which is nothing but waste of time.

Other right groups in separate statements also rejected both the proposals. They reiterated their demands for Tk 16,000 as the monthly minimum wage for the garment sector.

The trade unions are Bangladesh OSK Garments and Textile Sramik Federation and Bangladesh Trade Union Sangha.

They alleged that the proposals did not consider the day-to-day life expenditure, price spiral of essentials and the cost of living.

They expressed the fear that the proposals might fuel agitations by the workers and create an unstable situation in the industry.