About 83.67 per cent readymade garment factories cleared payment of bonuses ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, one of the largest religious festivals of Muslims to be held at the end of March subject to moon-sighting, according to data from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
According to the data, the BGMEA said that 1,543 RMG factories from the Dhaka zone and 220 from the Chattogram zone, totaling 1,763 factories, had cleared the payment of bonuses as of Monday.
Moreover, 2,076 factories or 98.53 per cent of total operational RMG factories under the BGMEA cleared the payment of wages for the month of February, where 1,747 are from Dhaka zone and 329 from Chattogram zone.
However, according to the BGMEA data, 84 factories from both zones have cleared half or full wages for March. Stakeholders said that by the end of this week or just before starting the Eid holidays, most of the factories would clear the wages for March.
According to the data from Industrial Police, there are 245 risky factories that may not pay wages, bonuses and allowances ahead of Eid. Among them, 33 factories are at high risk.
Meanwhile, several incidents of unrest occurred in some factories in the different industrial hubs on Monday.
According to BGMEA officials, about 250 workers of Mymensingh-based Roar Fashion Limited blocked the BGMEA complex in the capital鈥檚 Uttara area since Monday morning, demanding their dues.
They also halted the regular movement of the BGMEA officials, which hindered their daily activities.
The factory is located at Bhaluka of Mymensingh and has a registration number of 6367. It employs about 1,200 workers.
According to the BGMEA, the workers were owed approximately three months鈥� wages and service benefits.
Roar Fashion managing director Mamunul Islam could not be contacted to get a statement regarding the matter.
On the other hand, workers at Fame Design Limited in Narayanganj attacked at least four officers at Fame Apparel, two of whom were severely injured and admitted to a local hospital, according to Mohammad Hatem, president of the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association.
He said that they attacked the factory officials when the workers failed to halt production. Later, they blocked the road at Ponchoboti intersection and the army arrested seven agitated workers involved in the attack on Fame Apparel workers, he added.
Fame Design managing director Masud Alam Kajol said that workers are demanding 10 days鈥� vacation, similar to government officials.
However, this does not apply to them. The workers have been protesting and halting production since Sunday.
Moreover, the workers of JMS Garments in Chattogram Export Processing Zone have once again blocked the busy Airport Road on Monday at the Freeport intersection, demanding unpaid salaries and Eid bonuses. Workers have warned of continuing the blockade until payments are made.
The Industrial Police told 抖阴精品鈥檚 Chattogram correspondent that the factory owners had applied for a bank loan to clear dues but cannot pay on Monday. They assured that salaries and bonuses might be disbursed today. Around 500 workers took to the streets at 11:00am on Monday.
