The Prime Minister has called an emergency meeting regarding labour unrest.

BanglaPress Desk: The ongoing protests by garment workers—demanding a monthly wage of 30,000 Taka—and the clashes with police in Mirpur have raised concerns. The government has now taken the initiative to address the situation. Prime Minister Tareq Rahman has called an emergency meeting with several ministers and advisors on Sunday to determine the course of action for handling the labor unrest.

According to sources within the Cabinet Division, the Prime Minister has summoned six to seven ministers and advisors—including those from the Ministries of Finance, Home Affairs, and Labour—to the Secretariat to decide on the necessary steps regarding the ongoing instability in the garment sector.

Earlier, around 1:00 PM on Sunday, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Ariful Haque Chowdhury, met with the Prime Minister. During the meeting, they discussed the ongoing labor unrest in the garment industry and the overall situation.

Meanwhile, the Labour Minister has cancelled his scheduled visit to the United Arab Emirates in light of the workers' protests. At a press conference held at the Secretariat on Sunday morning, he announced the formation of a new Wage Board to determine the minimum wage for garment workers.

The Labour Minister stated that the government had previously communicated—through the media and in discussions with representatives of both workers and employers—that a Wage Board would be established on Sunday. Despite this, the continued presence of workers on the streets is causing public hardship. He urged the protesting workers to return to their workplaces.

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Formation of a Wage Board to determine garment workers' wages

Who will be on the Wage Board?

Senior District and Sessions Judge Sheikh Ashfaqur Rahman has been appointed as the Chairman of the newly formed Wage Board, tasked with determining the minimum wage for garment workers.

Dr. Mosleh Uddin Ahmed, a professor in the Department of Public Administration at the University of Dhaka, has been appointed as an independent member of the board. Md. Asif Ayub, Joint Secretary General of the Bangladesh Employers' Federation, serves as the representative for the employers, while Md. Anwar Hossain, President of the Central Committee of the Bangladesh Nationalist Workers' Party (Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Sramik Dal), has been appointed as the representative for the workers.

Additionally, A B M Shamsuddin, a director of the BGMEA, is also on the board, representing the garment industry owners. Babul Akhter, General Secretary of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation, has been appointed as a representative for the workers' side.

Clashes in Mirpur; ongoing worker protests

It should be noted that garment workers are protesting in the capital and various other parts of the country, demanding a minimum monthly wage of 30,000 taka. Despite the government's announcement regarding the formation of a wage board, the protests continue.

On Sunday, repeated clashes broke out between workers and the police in the Mirpur-10, 11, and 12 areas of the capital, following the blocking of roads by the workers. During these incidents, acts of violence occurred, including the setting of a police vehicle on fire. To bring the situation under control, the police deployed water cannons, tear gas shells, and sound grenades.