3,035 industrial units fail to pay festival allowances

About 30.05 per cent or 3,035 industrial units, including readymade garment (RMG) factories operating across the country under the jurisdiction of Industrial Police (IP), failed to pay festival allowances until Tuesday.

 

On the other hand, nearly 10.16 per cent or 1,026 factories have not paid wages for the month of February until 4.00 pm on Tuesday, according to IP data.

 

Earlier on March 03, Minister for Labour and Employment Ariful Hoque Chowdhury instructed owners of all factories to pay wages for the month of February to workers within the seven working days of this month (March 09) and to disburse their festival allowances by March 12.

 

Central bank also introduced a special loan facility to help export-oriented manufacturers pay worker wages as liquidity pressures weigh on production and shipments.

 

Factory authorities have also been asked to pay half of the wages for the month of March in advance, following discussions between workers and the management.

 

The government also advised factory owners to consult with their respective workers and take decisions on Eid holidays.

 

According to IP data, a total of 10,100 units, including that of textile, garment and jute, located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Khulna, Sylhet and Cumilla, except for Dhaka Metropolitan city, are operating under the authority of IP.

 

About 136 out of the 10,100 factories have paid wages for the month of March.

 

Law-enforcement agencies, however, made a list of around 266 factories, including 180 textile and RMG units, in different industrial zones as vulnerable to labour unrest, mentioning that those units might fail to pay wages and festival allowances before the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr.