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10% factories may fail to pay Eid bonus

Arifur Rahaman Tuhin
07 Jul 2022 00:00:00 | Update: 07 Jul 2022 00:14:47
10% factories may fail to pay Eid bonus
— Rajib Dhar

Around 10 per cent of all around 9,000 local and export-oriented factories will likely fail to pay workers festival bonuses ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha holidays.

Besides, around 30 per cent of factories are likely to pay June wages after the holidays.

“Half of all factories have already paid Eid bonuses and 35 percent have paid June wages. Although factory owners have until Saturday to pay bonuses, our estimate is that around 90 per cent of factories will clear bonus payments before Eid,” a senior official of the Industrial Police told The Business Post.

“It’s possible that 10 per cent of factories won’t be able to pay bonuses because of the ongoing financial crisis. However, we are very concerned about it and hope that no major protest takes place before Eid,” he added.

According to a stakeholder, export-oriented factories have been losing orders because of the high inflation in the global economy. Around 88 subcontract factories have already halted production because of the order crisis.

Industry insiders said that around $100 million worth of goods were burned in the BM container depot fire last month, and owners have yet to receive insurance claim funds.

Besides, many factories have been failing to meet shipping deadlines due to the ongoing electricity and gas crisis, they added.

As a result, many local factories’ production dropped by 30 per cent, for which they are struggling to pay bonuses and wages on time, they also added.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) claimed that their members would pay the festival bonus before Eid.

“But we cannot speak for non-members factories’ problems,” Shahidullah Azim, vice president of BGMEA, told The Business Post.

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