Labour groups press for Tk 30,000 floor wage, stronger rights at May Day rallies
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Workers and labour organisations have held rallies and processions to mark International Workers' Day and push for their fundamental rights.
Thousands of working-class people assembled under different banners outside the National Press Club in Dhaka from 9am on Friday.
Leaders of the Sramik Karmachari Oikkya Parishad (SKOP) stressed that alongside the full implementation of labour laws, the minimum wage must be set at Tk 30,000.
They maintained that without this shift, the remnants of the "system of servitude" would persist in society, adding that working hours must be strictly defined and enforced.
The Socialist Workers' Front pressed for the cancellation of "anti-national" trade deals with the United States.
The group called for guaranteed employment for all able-bodied citizens, the fixing of a national minimum wage, and an end to modern slavery, wage theft, and forced labour.
Speakers at the rally said the demand for fair wages had long been tied to the historic struggle for an eight-hour workday, dating back to the 1886 Haymarket movement in New York.
More than a century later, they said, workers remain trapped in low wages and job insecurity, often forced to work 12 to 14 hours despite formal recognition of an eight-hour day, with loopholes in law and inflation eroding earnings.
Zulfiqar Ali, the central secretary for publicity and publication of the organisation, noted that while recent amendments to labour laws expanded some rights following long struggles, they fell short of democratic standards.
He argued that the bargaining power of worker representatives has been curtailed, while provisions that allow for arbitrary dismissal remain.
He added that social security remains conditional, and there are no compensation rules for failing to adjust wages within specific timeframes.
Bimal Chandra Saha, the group's legal secretary, noted that the state has taken no visible steps to meet the aspirations of the working class who sacrificed their lives in the 2024 July Uprising to end discrimination.
He cautioned that the state cannot be governed peacefully if the expectations of the labouring majority are ignored.
Leaders urged workers to strengthen movements against imperialist aggression on livelihoods and to fight for a society free from exploitation.
Separate programmes were also held by organisations including the Bangladesh Trade Union Federation, working women’s groups, garment workers’ federations and other labour platforms pressing a range of demands.