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DHAKA: Labour leaders have demanded that the newly determined minimum wages be implemented with workers’ January 2027 salaries.
They also called for the Minimum Wage Board to hold consecutive meetings without delay and finalise the new wage structure as soon as possible.
Worker representatives said discussions could even continue throughout the night, if necessary, to reach a decision quickly.
The demands were made by Babul Akter, worker representative on the Minimum Wage Board and a labour leader, at a press conference held at the Labour Building on Monday morning (November 2).
He said the last minimum wage was announced in December 2023, meaning three years would be completed in December 2026.
Therefore, whatever wage is determined this time, workers want to receive it with their January 2027 salaries, he added.
Babul Akter said they did not want any delay in the wage-setting process. Meetings should not be held at intervals of 15 days, as in the past, nor should discussions be postponed on excuses such as the absence of any representative from the country.
Instead, he called for consecutive meetings, with breaks of just one or two days between sessions.
He said the wage should be finalised quickly, even if it required holding discussions throughout the night.
Regarding the formation of the Wage Board, he said it had been constituted much later than required, despite the law stipulating a specific timeframe.
He also alleged that leaders of various labour unions and ordinary workers were being indiscriminately arrested and harassed through cases in an attempt to suppress workers’ protests.
He demanded the immediate release of arrested workers and the withdrawal of what he described as false cases filed against them.
The press conference was chaired by Anwar Hossain, permanent worker-side representative on the Minimum Wage Board and a leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Labour Party.
Other labour leaders present included worker representatives Nazma Akter, Mst Sultana Begum, Lovely Yasmin, Khalikuzzaman Lipu and Sohel Rana.
