1,500 factories, including 409 garment, textile units, yet to pay Eid bonuses: Industrial police
BGMEA disputes industrial police data on unpaid Eid bonuses
Despite a government directive to clear Eid bonuses by 21 May, around 1,500 factories – nearly 15% of the 10,238 factories under the jurisdiction of industrial police – had not paid bonuses as of today.
Among the 3,270 garment and textile factories, monitored by industrial police, 409 factories, or around 13%, failed to pay Eid bonuses within the stipulated timeframe.
Meanwhile, despite legal provisions requiring monthly wages to be paid within seven working days of the following month, 162 factories had not paid salaries by 25 May, including 92 garment and textile sector factories.
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There are also a significant number of factories outside the jurisdiction of industrial police that are not included in these figures.
On condition of anonymity, a senior industrial police official shared updated wage and bonus payment data with The Business Standard. According to the data, among the 1,570 factories affiliated with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), 220 had not paid Eid bonuses as of today.
Similarly, 126 out of 582 factories affiliated with the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) had yet to pay bonuses. In addition, 57 factories affiliated with the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) also failed to make the payments.
Eid-ul-Adha will be celebrated on 28 May this year. Garment factory owners said some factories would remain open today to complete salary and bonus payments for workers.
According to BGMEA, factories under its jurisdiction have been observing staggered holidays since 24 May.
BGMEA, however, disagreed with the industrial police data. According to figures provided by the organisation, only 46 out of its 1,794 member factories had yet to pay Eid bonuses by 24 May. It also said only three factories still had outstanding April salaries.
Md Rezwan Selim, vice-president of BGMEA, told The Business Standard, "Almost all factories under our association have already paid salaries and bonuses."
He added that most factories had already started holidays, while the remaining factories would begin holidays from today.
