PM asks law enforcers to help operate factories

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed law enforcement agencies to ensure the smooth operation of factories and protect public safety and property amid labour unrest by garment workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000.

Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury disclosed the directive after an emergency meeting chaired by the prime minister at the Secretariat on Sunday evening.

“The prime minister has instructed us to ensure that factories and industrial units operate properly and that people’s lives and property remain safe,” the minister told reporters after the meeting.

He said the government had formed a wage board to review workers’ wages and that its immediate priority was to restore stability and ensure public safety.
The minister also alleged that a political group was working with different organisations to destabilise the government ahead of December. He said the government would politically resist any such attempt.

The meeting, which began at 6:00pm, discussed the ongoing labour unrest, its causes and measures to restore normal operations in the garment sector.

Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury, State Minister for Local Government Mir Shah Alam, Prime Minister’s Adviser and Office Spokesperson Mahdi Amin, and Nationalist Workers Party chief coordinator and lawmaker Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas attended the meeting.