Pharmaceutical Industry Strike Wave, Demand for Minimum Wage of 20,500 Baht Triggers Industrial Unrest!

Over the past seven days, the pharmaceutical sector has experienced significant volatility. Workers in the sector have launched protests, demanding regularization of work, wage increases, more holidays and other related issues. The workers' actions have led to the temporary shutdown of 27 major drug manufacturers. While making their demands, protesters carried out acts of vandalism inside factories, holding officials of industrial units hostage and forcing them to sign documents that met their demands. The factory owners claimed that outsiders were inciting unrest in their factories. While some factories resumed operations after meeting initial demands, officials and owners reported new protests and more demands. They also noted that outside actors, in addition to workers, were involved in the protests at several factories. Over the past week, workers have staged protests in several parts of the country, including Savar, Ghazipur and Maimensingh. The Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Industry Association reported that at least 27 companies had their factories shut down, including Square, Acme, Orion, Beximco and Incepta. Abdul Muktadir, president of the Bangladesh Pharmaceutical Industry Association, told TBS: "We are willing to meet with the workers to address their legitimate claims. However, holding an official hostage and then making unreasonable demands is unacceptable." He stressed that the protests must be resolved quickly with government intervention, otherwise the country's pharmaceutical industry will face a crisis, which he expressed concern about. Muktadir also said: "The hostage-taking and vandalism are unjust. The day after meeting one demand, the workers made a new one. It appears to be a conspiracy to destroy the pharmaceutical industry. If the protests continue in this way, these companies will have to choose to shut down."

Entrepreneurs say the market is currently being kept supplied by existing inventories. However, if the impasse continues, it could create a major crisis in the country's drug supply, disrupting medical services and affecting exports. They called on the government to support the immediate resumption of production at all factories.

On Wednesday, workers at the UnitedHealth Pharmaceutical Company factory in Rajendrapur, Gazipur, went on strike. The workers made 20 demands, including the elimination of wage differentials. They are mainly demanding a ballot to form a union, a daily minimum wage of 750 TECk for temporary workers, and a guarantee that all workers are converted into regular employees within six months of starting their jobs. They also demanded an increase in the minimum wage from 8,500 TECk to 20,500 TECk and a minimum night allowance of 500 TECk. Other demands include a 20 percent increase in annual salary, a two-day holiday system, attendance bonuses and year-end production bonuses, and automatic promotion after three years. Workers also restricted the movement of top management during the strike. "What we are protesting is discrimination, what we are after is equal opportunity for everyone," factory foreman Mohammed Hannan told TBS. A UnitedHealth official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, noted that while critical work at the plant is carried out by chemists and permanent employees, some temporary workers and aides have been protesting at the plant for days with outside support. He added that while the employers initially accepted some of their demands, the protesters then made new demands. While communicating with the instigators, a number of outsiders were found, but none were willing to be identified. Despite the presence of law enforcement officers, the protesters did not comply with police instructions. Three days after the plant was shut down, Acme Lab, one of the country's leading drug manufacturers, was able to resume operations thanks to the intervention of army personnel and an agreement with workers. An Acme official explained that temporary workers such as foremen, mechanics, security guards, cafeteria workers, etc. had initially asked for the minimum wage to be doubled. Employers agreed to raise wages by 50 percent to 12,000 baht. The next day, however, with outside support, workers began demanding that the minimum wage be nearly tripled to 20,500 baht and made other demands that were difficult to meet.

The country's major pharmaceutical companies, Square and Incepta, have suspended operations at their production facilities for several days due to labor protests. Mr. Abdul Muktadir, Managing Director of Incepta Pharmaceuticals, said that while the pharmaceutical industry association has been working hand in hand with workers to advance the industry for the past half century, it is not clear why workers continue to make new demands and protest. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday evening, Mr Muktadir said: "Scientists and managers are being held hostage and workers are claiming that they will not release the detained officials unless they sign the documents they are demanding." He further revealed that "about 400 Incepta employees were quarantined from 7am on Tuesday until 3am the following morning." The protesters include many people we don't know, and they are making demands that are almost impossible to achieve." At a factory in Gazipur, workers detained all officials from Monday morning until Tuesday afternoon to pursue their demands. More than 200 managers at the plant were detained by protesters for two days. An official at the factory said in a Facebook post that at least 40 of them were women, some of them pregnant.

The plant's general manager told TBS that "the food in the canteen has run out and there is not enough space inside the factory for so many officials to stay overnight, resulting in a difficult night for everyone." The army then stepped in and it took intense negotiations to quell the workers' discontent." Production at Orion Pharmaceuticals was also disrupted by the protests. Zareen Karim, managing director of Orion Pharmaceuticals, said: "We have never had a situation where a manager has been held hostage and forced to accept a request." "We want to address workers' concerns and seek a reasonable solution to meet their demands regarding wage increases." If this issue is not resolved in time, it will have a negative impact on exports." Zareen mentioned that the minimum wage is currently 8,500 baht, and they want it to increase at a reasonable rate. "The government should promote dialogue between owners and workers. The regularization of workers should be negotiated with the government because sudden changes are difficult to adapt to."

Meanwhile, the advisory committee met on Wednesday to address labor unrest and protests in the ready-to-wear apparel industry and several other sectors. Instructions for joint police and military operations were issued at the meeting, aimed at curbing foreign intervention and encouraging workers to resume work. At present, there is no consultation with business owners on wages in the pharmaceutical sector. The Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment (day-to-day affairs), Dr Jahangir Hossain, revealed that a wage committee has been set up to review and raise the minimum wage for workers in the pharmaceutical industry. "A resolution was taken at the first meeting, but the second meeting, originally scheduled for July last year, had to be postponed due to the political situation. We plan to meet with the owners of the pharmaceutical industry soon." Bangladesh is almost self-sufficient in the medical sector, with about 98% of the country's medical needs being met. According to data from the Drug Administration, Bangladesh currently has 295 pharmaceutical manufacturing enterprises. The country's pharmaceutical market is worth 3 trillion baht a year. In addition, medicines produced in Bangladesh have been exported to 157 countries with an annual export value of approximately US $200 million.