Most factories pay Eid wages, But worker unrest looms over unpaid dues

Most of the garment factories in the country have paid their workers' wages and festival bonuses ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. This has brought relief to workers and eased pressure on factory owners. However, while 2,591 factories have disbursed Eid bonuses, 299 factories have yet to do so.

Most of the garment factories in the country have paid their workers' wages and festival bonuses ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr. This has brought relief to workers and eased pressure on factory owners. However, while 2,591 factories have disbursed Eid bonuses, 299 factories have yet to do so.

According to the Industrial Police report, there are a total of 9,695 factories in the country, including jute mills and various other manufacturing units. Among these, 8,039 have already paid Eid bonuses. However, 4,352 factories have not yet cleared the wages for March, accounting for 45 per cent of all factories.

BGMEA Secretary General Md Fayzur Rahman stated that as of 27 March, 99.53 per cent of factories had cleared wages for February. Additionally, 83.20 per cent of factories have paid either 15 or 30 days' wages for March.

A total of 94.78 per cent of factories have paid Eid bonuses. Meanwhile, 0.47 per cent of factories are still in the process of clearing their pending February wages.

As per BGMEA directives, factory workers are being given holidays in phases from 26 to 29 March to minimise traffic congestion on highways.

Garment workers have warned that if they do not receive their wages and bonuses by Saturday, they will stage a hunger march on Eid day.

If wages and bonuses are not paid by Saturday, worker unrest is likely to escalate. Since banks will be closed, there will be no further opportunity to process payments before Eid.

Garment workers from TNZ Group in Gazipur have been protesting outside the Labour Department in Dhaka for several days, demanding their wages and bonuses before Eid. Factory owners have offered to distribute Tk 10 million among them, but the workers claim their dues exceed Tk 70 million. If their demands are not met, they plan to continue their protests and stage a hunger march on Eid day.

BGMEA administrator Anwar Hossain reported that as of Thursday, 1,997 factories—amounting to 94.78 per cent—had paid Eid bonuses. Additionally, 99.53 per cent, or 2,097 factories, had cleared February wages.

Jolly Talukder, General Secretary of the Garment Workers’ Trade Union Centre, stated, "The government claims that nearly all factories have paid wages and bonuses, but according to our records, more than 10 per cent of factories have not done so. Saturday is the last chance, and by the evening, the real situation will become clear."

Talukder criticised the Labour Ministry, suggesting that the current situation could have been avoided if they had taken appropriate steps in the workers' interest. She further accused the ministry of siding with factory owners and said the wage and bonus calculations were based only on operational factories, excluding many that have shut down. Recently, three factories have been closed.

Iqbal Kabir from the Garments Mukti Andolon remarked, "TNZ Group owns three factories, and their workers have been protesting outside the Labour Department for five days demanding wages and bonuses. Several other garment factories in Gazipur, Ashulia, and Savar have also not paid. If they do not receive their dues by Saturday, what will happen then?" He added that factories outside BGMEA’s membership also face similar issues.

Gazipur district houses a total of 2,176 factories, including 776 garment factories.

Superintendent of Gazipur Industrial Police, AKM Zahurul Islam, reported that 121 factories in the region have yet to pay Eid bonuses but are expected to do so by Saturday. He mentioned that some factories will continue operations on Saturday before granting holidays, while 80 per cent of factories have already paid March wages. As of Friday, 1,489 factories had started their Eid holidays, with the remainder expected to do so after work on Saturday.