Salary, bonus pay to be finished at factories by Sat: BGMEA

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Dhaka, Mar 28 - Ahead of the upcoming Eid-uL-Fitr, the salaries and Eid bonuses of workers of the garment factories have been paid in most factories.

The salary and bonus of the remaining factories, that is, payment of 100 percent of the garment workers in all the factories in the country, will be completed by Saturday, said Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

The BGMEA administrator, Md. Anwar Hossain told UNB that the process of paying the workers' dues has been completed smoothly with the cooperation of all concerned government agencies, law enforcement agencies, banks, and labor leaders.

This has brought relief to the workers and relieved the pressure on entrepreneurs. However, the factories that still have to pay the salary and bonus will also pay it by tomorrow (March 29), he pointed out.

The BGMEA sources said that 99.5 percent of the factories have paid the salaries for the month of February as of March 27, 83.2 percent of factories have paid salaries for 15 or 30 days of March, and 94.8 percent of factories have paid Eid bonuses. And 0.47 percent of factories are in the process of paying the outstanding salaries for February.

He also said that due to urgent shipments, some factories will pay salaries and allowances on March 28 and 29. BGMEA expects that salary and bonus payments will be completed in almost 100 percent of factories by March 29.

The BGMEA says that 445 factories have been brought under close monitoring from the beginning to ensure payment of salaries and allowances. Due to their intervention, the dues of workers of about 100 problematic factories have been ensured.

In addition, for the convenience of workers, at the request of BGMEA, the government ordered bank branches to remain open even on public holidays, which, according to those concerned, has helped entrepreneurs in paying salaries. - UNB