Dhaka, Bangladesh
Around 538
manufacturing units in Bangladesh, including textile mills and readymade
garment (RMG) factories, face a risk of labour unrests due to the lack of
Eid-ul-Fitr festival allowance, wage payments, mass termination, etc. The
government has instructed owners to pay April wages and festival allowance by
May 10.
Monnujan Sufian,
State Minister for Labour, held a meeting to discuss the current labour
situation. It was attended by representatives of the Department of Factories
and Establishments (DIFE) and Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters
Association (BGMEA).
Of the 538
factories, 76 were registered with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and
Exporters Association (BKMEA), 33 with Bangladesh Textile Mills Association
(BTMA) and 25 with Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA).
According to the
Industrial Police (IP), 158 factories hadn’t paid dues for March of which 49 were
listed with BGMEA,
14 with BKMEA, 15 with BTMA and eight with BEPZA. The listed units are located
in six IP zones of Dhaka – the Dhaka metropolitan area, Gazipur, Chattogram,
Narayanganj, Mymensingh and Khulna.
Labour leaders
mentioned that the reasons for this unrest situation were lack of fixed
festival allowance in garment factories, partial and non-payment of festival
allowance during last Eid, mass termination, non-payment of legal benefits and
sudden closure or lay-off in factories.
Source: The Financial Express
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