Dhaka: Garment workers on Friday threatened to wage a tougher movement if their demand for fixing Tk 16,000 as minimum wage is not met within the next 15 days.

Garments Workers’ Trade Union Centre, an organisation of RMG workers, issued the threat from a rally held in front of Jatiya Press Club in the morning, reports the UNB.

Jolly Talukdar, general secretary of the organisation, said the government and owners will have to accept their demand for fixing minimum wage at Tk 16,000, including a basic of Tk 10,000, within the next 15 days. ‘Or else, we’ll go on an all-out movement.’

She also said they rejected the minimum wage proposed by the owners at Tk 6,300 during the Minimum Wage Board’s stakeholder meeting on Monday.

Jolly said workers could not survive with such a low wage. ‘The demand for increasing the wage is the demand of their life and death.’

Communist Party of Bangladesh President Mujahidul Islam Selim urged the authorities concerned to accept the workers’ demand.

Speaking on the occasion, Garments Workers’ Tread Union Centre President Advocate Mantu Gosh said they will organise demonstrations in all industrial areas in the city next week.