Interim govt also serving interests of owners: CPB president

The President of the Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB), Mohammad Shah Alam, has alleged that like previous governments, the current interim government is also protecting the interests of factory owners.

He noted that despite the mass uprising of 2024, many garment factories have been shut down. He said workers are not being paid despite working, and the owners are pushing them onto the streets. Many factories are closing due to shortages of gas and electricity.

Speaking at the rally organised by the CPB in front of Mukti Bhaban in the capital’s Purana Paltan on the occasion of International Workers’ Day (May Day), CPB President Mohammad Shah Alam paid tribute to the heroic workers of the 1886 Chicago labour movement.

Presiding over the rally, Shah Alam reiterated that even after the mass uprising of 2024, numerous garment factories across the country have shut down. Workers are working without receiving their wages, while factory owners are abandoning them. The country has over 600,000 outsourced workers and employees who have no job security or the right to unionise. They have been kept outside the purview of labour laws, which he described as a heinous crime.

He added that like past administrations, the interim government continues to serve the interests of business owners.

Factories are also shutting down due to gas and electricity shortages. He demanded the declaration of a national minimum wage of Tk 30,000, along with provisions for rationing and housing for factory workers. He called for an end to layoffs, repression, assaults, and harassment of workers.

Other speakers at the rally included CPB Assistant General Secretary Mihir Ghosh, Vice President of the Trade Union Centre Mahbub Alam, and labour leader Montu Ghosh. The event was moderated by CPB Central Committee member Ahsan Habib.

After the rally, the CPB organised a procession that marched through the Paltan area.