As many as 266 garment factories may struggle to pay wages and festival bonuses ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, according to data presented by the Industrial Police at a government meeting.
The disclosure came at the 94th meeting of the Tripartite Consultative Council (TCC), organised by the Ministry of Labour and Employment at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka.
Data of the industrial police shows that Gazipur has the highest number of vulnerable factories at 82, followed by Ashulia with 60 and Chattogram with 55.
Mymensingh accounts for 40 factories, Narayanganj 25 and Cumilla four, while no factories in Khulna and Sylhet have been listed as vulnerable.
Of the 82 factories in Gazipur, 24 are affiliated with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), eight with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), eight with the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) and 39 with other associations.
In Ashulia, 34 are under BGMEA, four under BKMEA, one under BTMA, two under the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA) and 19 under other groups.
Chattogram’s 55 factories include 15 under BGMEA, four under BKMEA, eight under BTMA, five under BEPZA and 23 under other associations.
Association-wise, 85 of the 266 factories are affiliated with BGMEA, 37 with BKMEA, 36 with BTMA, nine with BEPZA and 97 with other organisations.
Industry insiders said order shortages, global market uncertainty and financial strain have pushed some factories into liquidity crisis, raising concerns over timely payment before Eid.
The meeting was chaired by Labour and Employment and Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment Adviser Ariful Haque Chowdhury.
Commerce Adviser Khandaker Abdul Muktadir, State Minister for Labour Md Nurul Haque and Prime Minister’s Adviser Mahdi Amin attended.
At the meeting, the labour adviser directed owners to clear outstanding wages within seven working days and pay Eid bonuses by 12 March.
He urged employers and workers to coordinate to prevent public suffering and instructed that no workers be laid off or retrenched without valid reasons.
He also said Eid holidays should be fixed through consultation between employers and workers in line with the government’s general holiday notification and the Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006.
The state minister for labour stressed timely payment of wages and allowances to avoid labour unrest.
Worker representatives demanded prompt payment of arrears before Eid and extension of maternity leave for female workers to six months.
Bangladesh Employers’ Federation representative Fazle Shamim Ehsan and TCC vice-president Md Anwar Hossain also spoke at the meeting.
