Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said new wages for workers will be determined within the next one to two months, with a wage board already formed to consider workers’ demands and work under way.
He made the announcement while addressing a street rally at Katakhali intersection in Bagerhat at 12:30pm on Thursday.
The prime minister also pledged to reopen closed mills and factories in the Khulna region and encourage local and foreign investors to establish new industrial units.
He said the government was working on plans to generate employment and improve living standards through industrialisation stretching from Khulna, Bagerhat and Chuadanga to Panchagarh.
Tarique said initiatives had been taken to economically develop the long-neglected south-western and northern regions. The government also plans to restore Khulna’s position as an industrial hub, he added.
Addressing labour unrest and instability in industrial units, the prime minister alleged that a group operating from across the border was trying to create disorder in the country by exploiting workers’ legitimate demands.
Referring to vandalism at factories and damage to machinery and vehicles, he said genuine workers could never destroy the very sources of their livelihoods.
Industrial establishments are national assets as well as the property of workers, he said, warning that their destruction would ultimately hurt workers, their families and their children most.
Tarique further alleged that individuals ousted during the mass uprising on 5 August 2024 were attempting to destabilise the country from across the border.
He said the government would respond to such conspiracies in cooperation with workers and the general public.
