Leaders of Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad on Monday urged the interim government to take steps to ensure workers’ rights in the country.
At a convention, chaired by Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal president Anwar Hossain, at the National Press Club in Dhaka, they demanded the formation of a permanent wage commission, a national minimum wage of Tk 30,000 per month for the workers, and the enforcement of free trade unionism and democratic labour laws.
Bangladesh Nationalist Party standing committee member and labour leader Nazrul Islam Khan criticised the low wages paid to workers and called for immediate reforms to guarantee their rights.
The convention’s declaration outlined a nine-point demand, including establishing a permanent wage commission, announcing a national minimum wage, ending the outsourcing system for workers, ensuring free trade union rights of the workers.
To press their demands, SKOP announced several movement programmes, including observing a ‘Demand Day’ on February 25, holding a rally in front of the National Press Club on March 16, demanding payment of wages and festival allowances before Eid-ul-Fitr, and launching tougher movements on May 1 if demands remain unmet.
Labour leaders and central leaders of SKOP Mesbahuddin Ahmed, Shah Mohammad Abu Zafar, Abdul Kader Hawlader, Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, Razequzzaman Ratan, Saifuzzaman Badsha, Naimul Ahsan Jewel, Shamim Ara, Babal Khan, Ahsan Habib Bulbul, and others spoke at the event.
