As many as 1,756 factories — 18.26 per cent — have yet to pay festival bonuses to their workers ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr though factories closed their doors on Thursday.
According to the Industrial Police, there are 9,616 factories operating in Bangladesh – excluding the Dhaka metropolitan area, and 7,860 factories or 81.74 per cent paid Eid bonuses till Thursday 2pm.
However, 460 factories out of 9,616 have yet to pay the wages for March to their workers, the data shows.
At a tripartite meeting on April 5, State Minister for Labour and Employment Begum Monnujan Sufian asked the owners to pay March salary before April 10 and bonus before the Eid holidays.
The Industrial Police data shows that 56 of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) members, 31 of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) factories, 13 Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) factories, and 360 other factories did not pay workers’ wages till Thursday 2pm.
On the other hand, 243 BGMEA member factories, 54 BKMEA factories, 63 BTMA, three Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) factories, 38 jute mills and 1,353 other factories did not pay festival bonuses.
The BGMEA, however, claimed that all the factories under the apex body have cleared March wages and Eid bonuses to their workers.
“Many factories fell into financial crisis and the BGMEA helped them to arrange money to pay workers. Many factories took loans from the BGMEA. So far we have been able to clear bonuses and March wages before the Eid vacation,” BGMEA Director Md Khosru Chowdhury told The Business Post.
Amid the upcoming Eid, 79 factories across the country will continue their operation. Those factories are basically manufacturing essential products, according to the Industrial Police.
