29% factories didn’t pay workers’ April salary till Monday

All factories were supposed to pay their workers the April salary and Eid bonuses by Monday, but 2,313 (29%) did not disburse the salaries and 1,971 (25%) the bonuses.

Of them, 671 apparel industries have not paid their workers' the April salaries and 616 factories have yet to pay the Eid bonus.

Industry owners had promised to pay the dues by Monday.

Also, several factories announced Eid vacation for 4 to 11 days, ignoring the government decision to keep three days' holiday to prevent mad rush of people to villages amid the pandemic.

Garment workers on Monday staged demonstrations, demanding wages and festival allowances and extension of Eid holidays.

According to the industrial police, 7,892 apparel units are located across the country. Of them, 5,579 factories (71%) paid their workers the April salaries and 5,921 factories (75%) disbursed the bonuses.

But, top officials at the Bangladesh Garment Manufaturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) claimed that about 90% of the association members paid salaries and 92% also paid bonuses.

However, industrial police data cited that 24.95% of the 1,643 BGMEA member factories have not yet paid the Eid bonus and 17.83% factories have not paid the salaries.

Regarding the mismatched data, BGMEA Vice-President Shahidullah Azim told The Business Standard that the industrial police have compiled the data until middle of the day, but most factories paid workers' payments at the end of the day.

About 6% of the factories have financial crises in paying the April wages and Eid bonus, he added.

"The crisis will be settled before Eid vacation as the association is trying to negotiate with the banks concerned to consider disbursing money for only the workers' payment," Azim said.

The Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) said 95% of its member factories have paid the salaries and bonuses.

But the industrial police's data said 36.88% of the 816 factories under the BKMEA were yet to pay the salaries and 17.40% the festival bonus.

About 24.83% of the 310 member factories of the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) have yet to pay the salaries and 20.96% factories have not paid the Eid bonuses, according to the industrial police data.

BGMEA President Faruque Hassan said the apparel industry is going through a difficult time. Most factories are still struggling to cope with the impact of the first wave of Covid-19.

"Moreover, the retail price of clothing has come down in the global market. As a result, order placement has fallen compared to the pre-Covid era. This second wave of the pandemic has pushed them hard," he said.

Despite all the challenges, about 90% of the BGMEA member factories have paid salaries for April and about 92% have paid bonuses, said the BGMEA president.

"Some factories are having problems with the payment. We are trying to solve it," he added.

BKMEA First Vice-President Mohammad Hatem said about 95% member factories have paid bonus-salary to their workers and the rest will make the payments by tomorrow.

He also mentioned that the industrial police data do not match with the field level information.

Hatem said, "We have asked factory owners to approve leave on the basis of worker-owner relationship."

Many factories are giving 10 days' vacation after Eid as there is no work.

He said they are also requesting workers not to leave Dhaka during Eid vacation.

Hatem also said only one factory owner had closed his unit a week ago. As a result, there has been uncertainty over the payment of salaries and allowances of 100 workers. The association requested the police to arrest the owner.

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments' (DIFE) Deputy Inspector General Sumen Barua said in Narayanganj zone, about 3,450 industries have registered with the DIFE. Of them, 676 are from the apparel industry, including accessories.

He said initially they identified that 55 factories might be facing unrest due to their financial crisis. Five to six have been under close monitoring.

On Sunday, State Minister for Labour Mannujan Sufian said the public holiday for Eid is three days. If workers are entitled to leave, owners and workers will decide through coordination.

Factories announce 4-11 days' vacation 

According to a field level survey report by the police's intelligence branch, factories announced 4 to 11 days' vacation for Eid despite the government decision to keep the holidays up to three days.

Workers overworked on their holidays during Ramadan or before to take additional leave During Eid.

RMG workers also want that they are allowed to go home as they go home only twice a year during Eid vacations, according to industrial people.

12 injured as cops disperse protesting RMG workers 

At least 12 people were injured after police fired gunshots at the protesting readymade garment workers of Hamim Group in Tongi on Monday.

Kanchon, one of the injured workers, was admitted to hospital.

According to the industrial police, workers of Comfort Garments in Bhabanipur of Gazipur, East West Industrial Limited in Signboard area, and Tamishna Group in Tongi staged demonstrations, demanding wages and festival allowances.

Apart from that, the workers of Sterling Design in Kaliakoir of Gazipur and Standard Group in Konabari staged demonstrations in the morning, demanding 10 days' Eid vacation.

They gathered on the factory premises around 10am at the Hamim Group's CCL garment factory at Nishatnagar for extended Eid holidays.

The clash with the police started as the law enforcers allegedly physically assaulted a garment worker at the entrance of the factory, workers alleged.

At one stage, the police fired rubber bullets and hurled tear gas shells to disperse the protesters as the demonstration created a long tailback on both sides on the highway.

Siddikur Rahman, superintendent of industrial police in Gazipur, told the media that workers blocked the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and were throwing stones targeting the police, leaving several police officials including an additional superintendent injured.

Workers of Tinni garments also demonstrated in the Kamalapur area, demanding payment of dues, said Eyasir Arafat, officer-in-charge of Motijheel police station.