1,500 factories yet to pay Eid bonuses, including 409 garment and textile units Industrial police
Despite a government directive to clear Eid bonuses by 21 May, around 1,500 factories – nearly 15per cent of the 10,238 factories under the jurisdiction of industrial police – had not paid bonuses as of Monday.
Among the 3,270 garment and textile factories, monitored by industrial police, 409 factories, or around 13per cent , failed to pay Eid bonuses within the stipulated timeframe.
According to the Industrial Police, 10,238 factories are currently operating under its jurisdiction in eight industrial zones – Ashulia, Gazipur, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Khulna, Cumilla and Sylhet – excluding the Dhaka metropolitan area.
Of them, some 1,500 factories – including 409 textile and readymade garment (RMG) units and 1,091 non-RMG factories – had not paid festival allowances until Monday, the data showed.
Highest number of factories –771 in Narayanganj had yet to clear festival allowances, followed by 339 in Gazipur, 141 in Ashulia and 116 in Chattogram.
According to IP data, more than 12 per cent, or 220 factories out of 1,790 listed with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), had yet to pay festival allowances.
Meanwhile, despite legal provisions requiring monthly wages to be paid within seven working days of the following month, 162 factories had not paid salaries by 25 May, including 92 garment and textile sector factories.
There are also a significant number of factories outside the jurisdiction of industrial police that are not included in these figures.
Similarly, 126 out of 582 factories affiliated with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) had yet to pay bonuses. In addition, 57 factories affiliated with the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) also failed to make the payments.
Eid-ul-Adha will be celebrated on 28 May this year. Garment factory owners said some factories are open today Monday) to complete salary and bonus payments for workers.
According to BGMEA, factories under its jurisdiction have been observing staggered holidays since 24 May.
BGMEA, however, disagreed with the industrial police data. According to figures provided by the organisation.
More than 94 percent of active ready-made garment factories in Dhaka and Chattogram have paid Eid-ul-Azha bonuses to workers ahead of the festival, according to a summary report released by the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) on Monday.
The report, prepared with data as of May 23, covers a total of 2,134 operational factories across the two zones.
Of these, 2,133 factories were found active, of which 2,117 or 99.20 percent have cleared April wages, while 2,021 factories, representing 94.70 percent, have disbursed Eid bonuses.
Additionally, 767 factories, or 35.94 percent, have already paid an advance on May salaries.
