Alok Acharja

Today's modern civilization has been established on the labor of the . Our lofty workers not on the owners. The journey of the civilization has been established on the sweat of workers. The Taj Mahal, about which the world is so excited today, was built on the sweat of workers. Yet today's society is divided in two classes: labor und boss. The further civilization advances, the stronger this division becomes. Money creates this difference.

The one who has money is the owner. One, who does not have it, is the Worker! Yet everyone works, so everyone gives Labor, that is, the Worker. The words labor and worker are closely related to each other. Several Issues related to the work of a worker are closely related. These include working conditions, fair wages, working hours, ancillary facilities and assurance of job stability. The movement to achieve workers' rights started with the focus on working hours. Since then, a lot has happened. Workers' working hours have decreased. However, in many cases, workers are still deprived of their fair share.

They are subjected to layoffs. The plight of women-workers is one step further. Many are harassed while working. Then there is Pay Inequality. Such Information has emerged in the report titled ‚Global Wage Report 2024–25: Is Global Wage Inequality Declining? ‘of the International Labor Organization (ILO). Wage inequality is decreasing in two-thirds of the world's countries. The ILO report says that since the beginning of 2000 wage inequality has declined by an average of 0.5 to 1.7 percent per year in many countries.

The ILO said that wage inequality in low-income countries has declined by an average of 3.2 to 9.6 percent per year over the past two decades, much faster than the global rate. The rate of decline in rich countries has been relatively slow. In upper-middle-income-Countries, inequality has declined by 0.3 to 1.3 percent per year, and in high-income-Countries, by 0.3 to 0.7 percent per year.

According to the report, global wage growth has recently been faster than inflation. Global real wages are expected to grow by 1.8 percent in 2023 and are projected to grow by 2.7 percent in 2024, the highest in 15 years. The report shows that the world's lowest-income 10 percent of workers receive only 0.5 percent of the total global wage. On the other hand, the highest-income 10 percent of workers receive about 38 percent. Wage inequality is most pronounced in low-income countries. According to this report, significant wage inequality also exists in Bangladesh.

With the Modernization of Civilization, class divisions arises in society. Division become more obvious since the beginning of the development of urban civilization. One group is the owner class and the other is the worker. One class continues to embrace consumerism and the other class is busy providing them with the materials for their consumption.

The progress of civilization continues to flow through labor to this day. Today, a huge force or lifeblood of our economy is the garment industry. Millions of men and women work day and night in this sector. Our economy has come to life because of their sweat. The Economy has accelerated. When we are looking for safety at home, those workers are on the streets. They are the most important partners in our country's development. The road of the country's development are being laid with their Hands, with their Sweat. They are the great people, who build all the big structures and infrastructure. After the construction of the Taj Mahal, everyone praises Emperor Shah Jahan for it.

But if you go a little deeper, you will see, how many workers' sweat was shed while building this Taj Mahal. No one even remembers those people. It seems that they do not deserve the praise. Everyone praises the Emperor!.

If the workers' sweat had not been shed, where would this reputation be? Behind every development of today's civilization, there is the contribution of this coolie-class of people. We have only wanted to pay for that contribution with money. That too, many times they have been deprived of their dues. The sweaty people have never been valued by the suit-wearing Gentlemen of Society. We have never been able to evaluate them.

However, when we look around today's civilization, the luxurious mansions that catch our eye, the big buildings that dazzle our eyes, the architectural style that brings lines of poetry to our minds, are the labor of thousands of workers. We only praise the Owners of these Buildings. The history of these workers is left behind. We forget that civilization was shaped by the blows of the hammer of the worker. However, we never wanted to pay the right price for that hammer. They have lost their rights again and again.

Therefore, the working people have to unite to achieve their rights. Although basic rights have been ensured for the workers today, the stability of their work has not been guaranteed. Workers working in different sectors should be given their fair share and a suitable environment for every job. Every worker should get their fair share. They should also work for a fixed time and enjoy equal rights.

The writer is a Essayist and Columnist Pabna.