The workers will realise their long-standing demands, including payment of salary arrears and bonus before Eid, through massive resistance, they warned at a rally at Muktangan in the city.

The Parishad observed the 'Black Day' yesterday in commemoration of a garments worker killed in Narayanganj on November 3 last year and in protest against the shutdown of mills and factories, privatisation of banks and repression on workers.

On the one hand, the government is destroying the industrial sector as per prescriptions of the World Bank (WB), and on the other hand, it is keen to give immunity to the WB so that both of them can serve their own interest, the leaders alleged.

"By closing down the industries, including the country's largest jute mill (Adamjee Jute Mill), the government has pushed the economy to the brink of ruination and rendered millions of workers jobless," said Roy Romesh, general secretary of Jatiya Sramik League.

Such anti-worker policy will hasten the fall of the government, he warned.

The government has not taken any precautionary measure yet to save the garments sector after the phasing out of quota facilities, Roy said.

"The government as well as industry owners are totally indifferent to our logical demands such as announcement of minimum salary and the right to form trade union," he added.

Parishad leaders Nurul Islam, Abdul Matin, Shafiqur Rahman Mazumder, Sahidullah Chowdhury, Shafi Ahmed, Abdul Kader Howlader, Abdullah Sarker, Jakir Hossain and Lutfur Rahman also spoke at the rally.