Central President (Acting) of Bangladesh Sramik Kalyan Federation Professor Harunur Rashid Khan said that Bangladesh is going through the worst period of crisis in the history. Which has arisen due to the misrule and continuous corruption of the ruling party. This crisis won’t go away until the rule of an honest ruler is established.
He made these remarks during the president’s speech at the second general meeting of the Central Executive Council, which was held today in a capital city auditorium and hosted by the Bangladesh Sramik Kalyan Federation. Advocate Atiqur Rahman, the Central General Secretary of the Federation, was also there.
According to Professor Harunur Rashid, the government has held regular people prisoner by establishing syndicates in the markets all over the nation. People can no longer visit the market. Daily necessities are extremely expensive. Low-income individuals can no longer buy rice-dal oil because of its rising cost. Meanwhile, the cost of fuel oil and urea fertilizers rises and the people have additional difficulties. The cost of various things is rising every day. However, without regulating the market, the government is openly supporting syndicates and illegal traders with ridiculous rhetoric. With the government’s unmistakable assistance, they have amassed a mountain of illicit wealth and black money.
He also said that the current government is not supportive to. If so, they would have raised laborer pay to reflect rising commodity costs. But the government does not even give a second thought to take this initiative. They seek to saturate their party leaders with wealth and illicit assets. so that they might utilize this money to win the next election and retake power. However, they are unaware that the populace is so fed up with them that a fair election would result in their defeat.
When the nation’s citizens protested the continued, irrational price hike, according to Professor Harunur Rashid, the government “reverted to its previous form.” At the point of a weapon, they are attempting to stifle the protestors’ voice. As a result, the opposition party’s members and leaders are once again being killed and arrested. All of the opposition party’s detainees, including all royal prisoners and central head of the Sramik Kalyan Federation and former MP A N M Shamsul Islam, are subject to our immediate release demand.
The following suggestions were accepted at the conference today.
1. The conference today is very concerned about the fact that growing commodity costs are now beyond the means of the working class and average citizens. People today have sad lives because they cannot eat. The conference firmly calls for an urgent improvement of the people’s deplorable situation by dismantling all syndicates and bringing the cost of all items within reach.
2. Today’s conference notes with deep concern that the government has put the farmers in trouble by increasing the price of urea fertilizer by taka 6 per kg. As a result of this price hike, food production in the country will be threatened. In order to overcome this, today’s conference demands the withdrawal of this unreasonable price hike. On the other hand, 65 percent labor force of the country is engaged in the agricultural sector. But the farmers are not getting the fair price of the products due to the lack of development of agricultural industries in the country. As a result, there is no change in their financial status. This conference is making a strong demand for the establishment of agriculture-based industries in the government and private sector.
3. The conference today recognizes with great worry that the government’s unjustified increase in fuel prices has brought about a crisis in the nation. The lives of low-income members of society, starting with farmers, have once again been impacted by the rise in fuel oil prices. Rental car rates and the cost of basic goods have gone up as a result of the rise in fuel prices. In this instance, a class of businesspeople are selling them at four times the price at the government’s demand, and people are being held captive by their actions. The conference today is calling for the cessation of the fuel oil price hike and the restoration of alleviation in society.
4. This conference is calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all royal prisoners, including Professor Mia Golam Parwar and ANM Shamsul Islam, the central president of the Bangladesh Sramik Kalyan Federation and a former member of parliament, as well as the establishment of good governance and democracy in the nation by the dismissal of all fabricated political cases.
5. With the aid of labor, the industry will survive. If the industry endures, the nation will as well, and its economy will grow. To support the sustainable manufacturing sector, labor rights must be guaranteed. Therefore, in order to sustain the living standards of the labor force, this conference strongly proposes that the government implement a rationing system.
6. The minimum wage for garment workers was set at TK 8000/- at today’s conference, but most garment owners are depriving workers of their rights by not paying the minimum wage. They are even harassing and arresting them in the name of suppressing the demand movement and firing workers unfairly. This conference strongly advocated for the repeal of the current Labor Code Termination Act in the garment industry and the reinstatement of the previous law, as well as the establishment of a wage commission to set the minimum wage at TK 20,000/- with annual increases. All closed garments should be opened, and all workers should be retained in their positions.
7. The session today is demanding the immediate payment of all outstanding dues of the laborers of the 26 jute mills that have been closed, as well as the immediate reopening of all closed public and private factories, including the said 26 jute mills, and the modernization of the mills with the BMRE system.
8. The conference vehemently requested the ability to freely form unions and the distribution of employment certificates to workers in privately owned firms in accordance with the ILO Convention. In the case of trade unions, the government and labor department are adamantly insisting that registration be granted under straightforward conditions without causing any issues.
9. The conference notes with deep concern that the plight of transport labours will not end unless the anarchy and extortion in the transport sector is stopped. Therefore, the conference strongly demands to issue employment letters to transport labours and stop extortion and harassment against them.
10. The group that met today agreed that Bangladesh Railway is a significant national organization. The nation will develop as this institution continues to grow. The expansion of railways along the Dhaka-Laksham-Dhaka cord line, Dohazari-Bazar Cox’s and Bogra, Jamtail, as well as the entire country, is therefore urgently needed in addition to Bangladesh Railways’ rapid modernization.
11. The current session believes that establishing the laws of the Quran and Sunnah is necessary in order to address the real issues facing laborers. Therefore, under the banner of Bangladesh Sramik Kalyan Federation, employers of all levels are asked to unite with the goal of developing Islamic labor policy.
