Enact new labour law to protect workers' rights

Leaders of Bangladesh Trade Union Centre (BTUC) at a meeting yesterday demanded the government enact a democratic labour law with provisions for protecting interests of labourers and cancel the undemocratic provisions in the existing laws.
They called on the government to form a national wage commission, determine Tk 4,500 as minimum wage for the workers and to launch interim and variable daily allowances for them.
They placed the demand at the concluding session of BTUC's the two-day meeting at its office in the city with its Executive President Shahidullah Chowdhury in the chair.
General Secretary of the centre Wajedul Islam Khan presented a report that highlighted the situation existing for the last two years in the labour and industries sectors, prices of essentials, financial depression, deplorable situation of labourers and doings of BTUC.
The report said the number of the jute and textiles mills and factories and their labourers are being reduced and their movements are also being weakened.
On the other hand, the number of labourers are being increased since employment generation at the sectors like garment, cement, drug, ceramic, plastic, ship-breaking and steel re-rolling industry, but the workers cannot organise them due to undemocratic rules of the labour laws, it added.
The meeting demanded a fair investigation into the mysterious killing of BTUC President Nurul Islam and not to sign the Tifa agreement with the US.
Labour leaders Tapan Dutta, Mohammad Ali, Abdul Malek, Manzurul Ahsan Khan, Mahbubul Alam and Abul Kalam Azad also spoke.