Labour and employment adviser Brigadier General M Sakhawat Hussain (retired) has asked owners of readymade garment factories to pay all dues of workers by May 28.
鈥極therwise, the owners the factories must go behind bars,鈥� he said.
The adviser said this after a meeting with chief of different agencies at the shipping ministry on Wednesday to ensure safety and security of the passengers to travel on waterways ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Eid-ul-Azha, one of the biggest religious festivals of the Muslims, will be celebrated in the country in the first week of June.
鈥楾he owners of the RMG factories must pay outstanding salary and allowances of the workers, otherwise they have to go behind the bar,鈥� Sakhawat said.
鈥楢rrest warrant has already been issued against five apparel factory owners. So, they cannot go outside Dhaka, going abroad is a far cry,鈥� he said.
In that meeting, Sakhawat said that the garment owners made the commitment to pay the outstanding salaries of the workers at any cost, even if selling their homes, by May 28.
He said that the commitment of the RMG factory owners had made us hopeful. 鈥楽o, we think that the garment owners will pay the salaries and allowances of the workers as they promised. There is no scope to do otherwise,鈥� he said.
鈥楾hose who are unable to pay the salaries of the workers, they should not be the owners of the RMG units,鈥� he said.
The adviser observed that some of the RMG owners had set up factories for showing fashion. It should not be allowed in future, he added.
The adviser said that owner of TNZ Garments and Mahmud Garments were among the five against whom the arrest warrant had been issued.