Bangladesh Trade Union Sangho (BTUS) on Monday urged the interim government to form a national minimum wage board immediately and to announce Tk 30,000 as the basic wage for workers.

The BTUS made the demands at a rally held in front of the National Press Club in the capital.

Their 10-point demands included the right to form free trade unions and to ensure workplace safety in line with ILO Conventions 87 and 98.

Earlier, the BTUS, led by its president Chowdhury Ashiqul Alam, brought out a protest procession in Gulistan and later gathered in front of the National Press Club, according to a statement.

Leaders from various trade unions, including the National Democratic Front Trade Union Association, Bangladesh Hotel Restaurant Sweetmeat Workers’ Federation, Bangladesh Sawmill Workers’ Federation, Bangladesh OSK Garments and Textile Workers’ Federation, and the BTUS Dhaka Metropolitan Committee, among others, spoke at the event.

Speaking at the rally, labour leaders said that around 92 per cent of workers, who lack institutional recognition, are part of the informal sector and are thus deprived of legal benefits and rights.

Workers in the informal sector are denied entitlements under labour law, including appointment letters and identity cards, legally recognised working hours and leave, maternity benefits, and compensation.

They alleged that despite both global and domestic oversight, workers in export-oriented sectors—especially the readymade garment industry—continue to face repression, in violation of labour laws.

Garment workers are being forced to take to the streets to demand due wages and other payments, they claimed, adding that instead of addressing these issues, factory owners are allegedly preoccupied with suppressing the labour movement by filing lawsuits and harassing workers.

Although there are 142 industrial sectors in the country, minimum wages have only been declared for 43 sectors under the Minimum Wage Board, they noted.

The minimum wage in these sectors ranges from Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,000—figures that do not reflect the current high inflation, they added.

They further alleged that although there is a legal obligation to review minimum wages every five years, this requirement is often ignored.

Due to the absence of a national wage board and a standardised guideline for wage determination, there is no universal wage structure in the country, they said, demanding the immediate formation of a national wage board.

Labour leaders warned of growing conspiracies by rival imperialist powers to drag Bangladesh into geopolitical conflicts.

They alleged that both Western powers led by the United States and their adversaries, China and Russia, were actively trying to involve Bangladesh in their strategic rivalries.

Citing examples such as the proposed lease of Chattogram Port to DP World, joint US-Bangladesh military drills, and humanitarian corridors, the speakers claimed these were linked to broader US war strategies.

They also said that China and Russia were carrying out their own manoeuvres in the region.

BTUS called for unity among patriotic, anti-imperialist, and anti-feudal forces to resist such efforts, while continuing their movement for workers’ rights, including the demand for a Tk 30,000 minimum wage.

Later, the BTUS submitted their 10-point demands to the labour and employment adviser.