40pc garment factories yet to pay Eid bonuses

Nearly 40 percent garment factories did not pay Eid bonuses to their workers as of yesterday although a deadline set by the labour ministry ended five days ago.

“As per our estimate, more than 60 percent factories paid bonuses to their workers by Monday,” Nawsher Ali, additional inspector general of the Industrial Police, said yesterday.

His estimate was based on the information about 3,500 factories, mostly garment producers, in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chittagong.

“I am hopeful that the rest of the factories will complete the payment within the next two days. The owners of the factories have also made a commitment to us that they would pay the bonuses before Eid,” Ali said.

The senior police official said his department has already submitted a list of 300 factories to the high-ups of the government which might fail to pay to workers ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, scheduled to be celebrated on September 2.

Sirajul Islam Rony, garment workers' representative to the last minimum wage board, said the bonuses in nearly 2,000 factories in Mirpur, Savar, Ashulia, Gazipur, Tongi, Badda, Khilkhet and Chittagong are yet to be paid.

He said at least 20 factories are very vulnerable when it comes to making payment before Eid. “We are negotiating with the owners so they pay the bonuses on time,” he said.

Although workers are demanding full payment of the salaries for August, the owners of the majority of the units have agreed to pay 70 percent of the wages. The remaining 30 percent will be paid after the Eid festival, Ali of the Industrial Police said.

Usually, garment workers are paid salaries on the seventh day after a month ends.

Rony said: “We have contacted with many factories and they have agreed to pay the salaries, at least partly before Eid,” he said.

In the meantime, owners of two factories in Gazipur have gone into hiding without making payments to their workers.

The leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) are trying to pay the workers either by selling machinery of the troubled factories or by managing a loan from banks, said the labour leader.

The BGMEA is monitoring the situation at factory level, said Siddiqur Rahman, president of the association.

“The factories have been advised to pay the bonuses on time. If any factory fails, the BGMEA will try to pay the workers before Eid through negotiation with the troubled factories,” he said.

At present, about 4.4 million workers are employed in 4,000 garment factories. Most of the workers are migrants from rural areas and they prefer heading to their village homes to celebrate Eid festivals with their loved ones.