Govt urges factory owners to pay wages before Eid

The government, without fixing any timeframe, called on factory owners to pay monthly wage and festival allowance to workers properly before the Eid-ul-Azha holiday starts in phases.

The call came after the 44th meeting of the Crisis Management Core Committee under the Ministry of Labour and Employment was held at Bangladesh Secretariat in the city on Sunday.

State Minister for Labour Monnujan Sufian presided over the meeting through video conference.

The committee usually instructs the factory owners, especially those of the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, to pay monthly wage and festival allowance to the workers before Eid by fixing a specific date.

The government formed the committee in 2013 to monitor work environment in all industrial sectors, and to address labour-related issues in units.

Meanwhile, official data revealed that some 96 factories, including textile and RMG units - except those located in Dhaka metropolis, did not pay wage to their workers for the month of June until Saturday.

Out of the 96 units, about 43 are members of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), seven are associated with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), and six are affiliated with the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).

The remaining 40 are non-RMG factories, according to data available with the Industrial Police (IP).

Those units are located in five zones - at Ashulia of Dhaka and in Gazipur, Narayanganj, Chattogram and Mymensingh - under the purview of the IP.

Labour secretary K M Ali Azam after the meeting on Sunday said the government requested the factory owners to pay monthly wage and other allowances, including festival, before the Eid holiday starts in phases.

He said the BGMEA has decided to declare Eid holiday from August 11 to August 17 in factories located in Gazipur.

The factories at Ashulia, Savar and Hemayetpur as well as in Manikganj have been requested to remain closed from August 11 to August 18 for Eid holiday.

The secretary also informed reporters that the ministry will request the central bank to take necessary actions to keep branches of the scheduled banks in the industrial zones open (for extra time, if necessary) to ensure the workers' payment.

The meeting, however, was informed that there are some factories that are not affiliated with any of the trade-bodies - the BGMEA or the BKMEA, and most of them do sub-contracting. Meeting sources said problems over non-payment of wage and other allowances usually take place in those non-member factories.

So, the meeting requested the government to bring the units under due regulation through mandatory registration with the trade-bodies concerned.

Leaders from the BGMEA and the BKMEA, along with representatives from various rights groups and law-enforcing agencies, among others, were present in the meeting.