Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Thursday alleged that people ousted in the August 5, 2024 mass uprising are trying to foment instability in the country from across the border, and said the conspiracy would be answered with the support of ordinary citizens and workers.

Addressing a street rally at Katakhali intersection on the Khulna-Mongla highway, he said some elements were sowing disorder in factories under the cover of workers’ legitimate demands. Referring to recent vandalism of factories, machinery and vehicles, he said genuine workers would never destroy their own source of livelihood. “Industries are the wealth of the country and its workers,” he said, adding that workers and their families would suffer most from any destruction.

On wage demands, the prime minister said a wage board had already been formed and begun work, and would set new wages within one to two months.

He also said the government would reopen shuttered mills and factories in the Khulna region and encourage domestic and foreign investors to set up new industries. Plans for widespread industrialisation extend from Khulna, Bagerhat and Chuadanga to Panchagarh in the north, he said, to create jobs and raise living standards in long-neglected regions.