Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed law enforcement agencies to ensure uninterrupted production at garment factories while safeguarding lives and property.

Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury disclosed the directive at a briefing following an emergency meeting with ministers and advisers at the Secretariat on Sunday (November 1) night.

At the briefing, the minister said the government would politically counter any attempt to destabilise the garment sector ahead of December. He added that the prime minister had instructed law enforcement agencies to ensure continued production at garment factories and protect lives and property.

Earlier, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman held a meeting with several ministers and advisers at the Secretariat on Sunday evening to determine measures to address labour unrest. The meeting discussed the current situation, the causes of the unrest and necessary steps to resolve the emerging problems.

Meanwhile, the government has formed a minimum wage board to determine a new wage structure for garment workers and published a gazette notification in this regard. The notification was issued by the Wage Board Section of the Ministry of Labour and Employment on Sunday.

According to the gazette, ABM Shamsuddin, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), has been appointed as the representative of the industry owners, while Babul Akhtar, general secretary of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation (BGIWF), has been appointed as the workers’ representative.

Professor Dr Mosleh Uddin Ahmed of the Department of Public Administration at the University of Dhaka has been appointed as the neutral member of the Minimum Wage Board.

In addition, Asif Ayub, joint secretary-general of the Bangladesh Employers Federation, has been appointed as the owners’ representative, while Anwar Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal, has been appointed as the workers’ representative.