Real World Negotiation Analysis Project: Minimum Wage Negotiation in Bangladesh (Research Paper Sample)

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Real World Negotiation Analysis Project
Minimum wage negotiation is always a tough call for the governments to handle. There is no specific minimum wage that is acceptable by both parties. The workers may see it as too little and given their working conditions, they surely deserve better. The government, on the other hand;may consider the huge number of these workers and decide on not giving them additional perks on theirwages. Also, given the state of the government’s financial condition, the negotiations may stall leading to a stalemate. Mostly, developing nations are the ones with these problems. Take a country like Kenya for example, the government refused to add the minimum wage for the teachers, therefore,causing the teachers to go on a strike for most of the last school term. In Bangladesh, the cost of living went high without the same going for their wages. Food, transport, housing, shelter costs all went up,and the little salary that these workers were living on was simply not enough. What was left was the negotiations between the Bangladesh government and the unions representing these workers. Normally, these unions would present a petition to the government demanding an increase in their pay. If the government ignored their requests or even refuse to add the minimum wage, these workers would go on a go-slow, peaceful protest demanding their rights to be heard or even go on a strike and refuse to go back to their workstations until the matter has been resolved. It normally causes the citizens to suffer given that there would be no service provision for the number of days that these workers go on their strike. The strike would prove to be harmful especially in the case of delicate sectors of the economy as the health sector, or even the security sector would go on strike.
In Bangladesh, the garment workers demanded an increase of the minimum wage levels since the cost of living went up. The board dealing with the negotiations on behalf of the workers demanded an increment by 77% (Industrial Global Union). The factory owners complained that the wage increment was too high and over a short period while, at the same time, the labor unions complained that this figure was still too low. The minimum wage was at 3000 takas (approximately $38) per month. The labor unions proposed an increment of up to 77% to be 5300 taka (approximately $68) (New York Times, 2013). A study was carried out by the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies and it revealed that the proposed minimum wage was still too low and the workers would still struggle to meet their basic needs given the given current economic conditions at that time. The study showed that the minimum wage should be $100 for the garment workers.
Also, given the poor working conditions and machinery given to these workers, 5300 taka was still a small wage. International pressure also piled upon these factories whose main goal of being in business is to maximize profit at every cost. The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory which claimed 1100 lives of the garment workers was a huge example of the poor working conditions of these workers in their workplaces. It was the worst case ever recorded regarding poor working conditions. However, given the fact that the Bangladesh government derives a lot of revenue and numerous employment opportunities for its citizensfrom these multinational companies, they decided to be lenient but forced the companies to have fire safety and building developments to prevent another occurrence of such a case.
These companies have to stay competitive in the market and therefore, so as to maintain operations, the wage levels have to be low. It only affects the workers’ wellbeing and increases profits for the top management officials. Another point brought out was the new companies. This proposed minimum wage level would only help to hurt the new companies investing in the market (The New York Times, 2013). They would be rendered bankrupt within no time,and the only way to prevent this is b calling on the global brands to increase the price they pay for the orders that they want (The New York Times, 2013). It means that the customers should also pay more for the same goods they were buying at a much cheaper cost. However, this would mean that given the high wage levels in Bangladesh, these investors would only look for better and conducive working environments. It would mean no more employment opportunities for the Bangladesh citizens.
However, the bottom line of the negotiation wou...