Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Sunday directed all concerned to remain alert to ensure the smooth operation of factories and industries and the safety of people's lives and property amid growing labour unrest.

Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury disclosed the Prime Minister’s instructions while talking to reporters after a meeting with him at the Secretariat at night.

“The Prime Minister said factories and industries must operate properly and the lives and property of people must remain safe. He asked everyone to stay alert and take appropriate measures in this regard,” the minister said.

He said the meeting discussed the overall situation surrounding the ongoing movement by garment workers demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000 and the clashes between workers and police in Mirpur.

Ariful Haque, also the expatriates’ welfare and overseas employment minister, said they also discussed public security and ways to restore stability.

“Vested interests are conspiring to create instability ahead of December and destabilise the government. We discussed the issue and how to deal with those involved in such conspiracies,” he said.

The minister alleged that some people are using political parties and different organisations, including those linked to workers, to carry out conspiracies against the government.

“InshaAllah, we will deal with this politically,” he said.

The meeting began at 6pm at the Cabinet Division conference room at the Secretariat.

Prime Minister’s Political Adviser Nazrul Islam Khan, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed, Ariful Haque, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives Mir Shahe Alam, Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin and Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal’s Chief Coordinator Shamsur Rahman Shimul Biswas, MP, among others, attended the meeting.

In the wake of the unrest in the country's garment sector, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman sat in the emergency meeting to address the crisis.

Garment workers staged demonstrations and blocked roads in Dhaka, Ashulia and Gazipur on Sunday, demanding a minimum monthly wage of Tk 30,000, disrupting traffic and triggering clashes with police and vandalism.

At least 20 people, including four to five police personnel, were injured in sporadic clashes between police and RMG workers in the capital's Mirpur area during the demonstrations.