Industrial workers to be paid all outstanding salaries, bonuses by 21 March: Labour ministry

All industrial workers in the country will get all of their outstanding salaries and bonuses by 21 March or the 20th of Ramadan.

Besides, factory authorities, to their respective capacity, will pay the workers at least 15 days' salary for the month of March, the Tripartite Consultative Council - comprised of representatives of the government, factory owners and labourers - decided in its 85th meeting on Wednesday (12 March).

The meeting, held at the ministry headquarters in Bijoynagar, also reviewed the labour situation ahead of the Eid-ul-Fitr and the salary, bonus and leave of workers in the industrial sector, reads a labour and employment ministry press statement, signed by the ministry's Public Relations Officer Abdul Malek.

At the meeting the TCC made a total of seven decisions, including no workers can be sacked or laid off before Eid-ul-Fitr.

Besides, it decided that the Eid holidays would be fixed through a discussion between factory authorities and labour leaders; the Finance Division, the Ministry of Finance and the Bangladesh Bank will be requested to take necessary measures to pay the dues, including cash incentives, owed to the owners, including BGMEA and BKMEA members.

The TCC further decided that banks in labourer-dense areas need to remain open on 28-29 March and to form a monitoring cell, comprised of representatives from all stakeholder groups, for monitoring situations centrally.