Jatiya Shramik Shakti on Monday demanded a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000 for garment workers and warned the government against using force to suppress the ongoing workers' movement.

“If attempts are made to suppress the movement, the situation could take a turn in which Tarique Rahman will find no way to flee,” the organisation’s Member Secretary Riyaz Morshed said at a press conference at Gazipur Chowrasta.

He alleged that Tarique Rahman had returned to Bangladesh from London riding on the student-worker-public movement, yet workers were now facing force for taking part in peaceful protests.

Jatiya Sramik Shakti is the Labor wing of the National Citizen Party (NCP).

Morshed also expressed dissatisfaction with the appointment of workers’ representatives to the wage board, claiming that the selected representatives would fail to protect workers’ interests.

Jatiya Shramik Shakti Chief Organiser Arman Hossain said Tk 30,000 was not a luxury but a necessity for workers to maintain a healthy life amid rising living costs.

“If there were an effective rationing system, we would not have had to take to the streets demanding higher wages,” he said.

Abdullah Al Muhim, joint member secretary of the Gazipur metropolitan unit of the National Citizen Party (NCP), urged the authorities to focus on preventing public processions by Awami League supporters rather than looking for alleged links to the party in workers’ legitimate movement.

The organisation called on the government to accept workers’ demands without delay and take effective measures to increase wages through peaceful means.

Central and local leaders of Jatiya Shramik Shakti attended the press conference.