Hotel and restaurant workers across Bangladesh on Sunday staged nationwide protest rallies and processions, demanding the immediate implementation of the government-declared minimum wage and full enforcement of labour laws in the sector.
The demonstrations were held as part of the central programme of the Struggle Council for the Implementation of Government-Declared Minimum Wage and Labour Laws in the Hotel-Restaurant Sector.
The workers participated in protest marches and rallies in various police station areas of Dhaka metropolis and elsewhere in the country.
At the rallies, the workers strongly demanded the immediate enforcement of the government-declared minimum wage, issuance of appointment letters and identity cards, ensuring an eight-hour working day, payment of fair overtime wages, and effective implementation of weekly holidays and other legal benefits guaranteed under labour laws.
In Dhaka, rallies organised in the areas under Kotwali, Sutrapur, Wari and Bangshal police stations were held in front of the Fulbaria Fire Service office.
Addressing a gathering, Convener of the Struggle Council Akhtaruzzaman Khan said that hotel and restaurant workers had long been deprived of their lawful rights due to negligence and exploitation by owners.
He warned that tougher programmes would be announced if the wage gazette and labour laws were not implemented without delay.
Bangladesh Trade Union Federation (BTUF) Dhaka Metropolitan Committee Co-Vice President Md Abu Sayeed Engineer and Joint Secretary Atikul Islam Titu also spoke at the rally, criticising the widespread violation of labour laws in the sector.
Separate rallies were held in Jatrabari, Kajla, Shyampur and Syedabad areas in front of Dhaka Hotel at Jatrabari.
BTUF Vice President Md Yasin and Office Secretary Md Ali addressed the gathering, reiterating workers’ demands and calling for strict government monitoring of the sector.
In Motijheel and Paltan areas, a rally was addressed by BTUF Dhaka Metropolitan Committee General Secretary Advocate Belayet Hossain Nayan, who said workers were being forced to live in inhuman conditions due to low wages and excessive working hours.
Another rally was held under New Market and Dhanmondi police stations at the New Market overbridge, where BTUF Dhaka Metropolitan Committee President Prokash Dutta and Dhaka Metropolitan Convener of the Struggle Council Md Saiful Islam Khan spoke.
Protest rallies were also organised in Tejgaon and Farmgate areas in front of Green Super Market, addressed by BTUF Dhaka Metropolitan Committee Co-Vice President Md Mamun Ahmed Khan.
In Mohammadpur, Adabor and Mirpur areas, a rally was held in front of Mirpur Benarashi Palli, where Joint Convener of the Struggle Council Anwar Hossain addressed the workers. Similar protest marches and rallies were also held in several other areas across the country.
Speaking at the programmes, labour leaders said hotel and restaurant workers had been suffering for years due to owners’ indifference, exploitation and systematic violation of labour laws.
They warned that if the government-declared wage structure and labour laws were not enforced immediately, the workers would be compelled to announce more stringent movements.
The leaders said the ongoing movement was not an isolated programme but a struggle to protect workers’ right to survival.
They vowed to continue the movement until the legitimate rights of hotel and restaurant workers were fully realised.