Call for 8-hour working day, ensuring appointment letters and identity cards and enforcing labor law; Protest rally later
Md. Nur Islam Noyon:
The Movement for Implementation of Minimum Wage and Labor Law in Hotel-Restaurant Sector has submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Inspector General of the Department of Factories and Establishments Inspection in Dinajpur demanding immediate implementation of the government-announced minimum wage gazette in the hotel-restaurant sector, issuance of appointment letters and identity cards to workers, ensuring 8-hour daily working day and full implementation of the Bangladesh Labor Act-2006.
On Tuesday (July 28, 2026) at 12:30 pm, the leaders of the organization handed over the memorandum to Abdullah Al Shakib Mubarrat, Deputy Inspector General of the Department of Factories and Establishments Inspection in Dinajpur.
The memorandum states that the government published the minimum wage gazette for the hotel and restaurant sector on May 5, 2025, but it has not been implemented even after almost 15 months. As a result, a large number of workers in this sector are being deprived of the declared wages and various legal benefits.
The organization claims that about 4 million workers work in the hotel and restaurant sector in the country. Most of them work for 12 to 16 hours a day, but they do not receive the prescribed wages, weekly leave, overtime pay, appointment letter, identity card, service book, gratuity, earned leave, sick leave, festival leave and other benefits stipulated in the labor law.
The memorandum further states that although there are provisions to ensure working hours, overtime pay, weekly leave and other labor rights according to the Bangladesh Labor Act-2006, many organizations are not following them. It is alleged that many workers are not provided with a healthy working environment, restrooms or housing facilities.
Apart from this, the memorandum also alleged that in many cases, workers are fired when they speak about their legal rights. The organization demanded effective action against the companies violating the labor law and the speedy implementation of the government-announced minimum wage gazette.
The memorandum also mentioned the death of hotel worker Shaon in Rangpur. The organization alleged that the incident occurred due to his refusal to work overtime. They demanded a fair investigation into the incident, bringing those responsible under the law and ensuring exemplary punishment, and providing appropriate compensation to the family of the deceased worker in light of the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention.
The organization’s central convener Akhtaruzzaman Khan, joint convener of the northern committee Md. Delwar Hossain Sabuj, member secretary Md. Jahangir Alam and leaders of the central and northern committees were present during the presentation of the memorandum.
After the presentation of the memorandum, a protest rally was held at a restaurant in Dinajpur city. The speakers at the rally demanded the government to implement the minimum wage gazette quickly, implement the labor law, ensure a fair trial for the incident of the worker Shaon who was killed in Rangpur, and ensure appropriate compensation for his family.
The speakers said that everyone, regardless of party affiliation, must work together to establish the fair rights of the workers. Leaders and activists from different levels of the organization and workers from the hotel and restaurant sector were present at the rally.
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