Bangladesh Garment Authorities Gear Up To Pay Bonuses In Time For Eid

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Bangladesh Garment Authorities Gear Up To Pay Bonuses In Time For Eid

Bangladesh’s 44 lakh garment workers are receiving special attention from the government and the factory owners in wake of Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations being close on heels. The stakeholders are going on an all-out attempt to ensure that the workers receive their salaries and festival bonuses well in time for the celebrations to take place smoothly without any unrest.

Vice President, Bangladesh Garment Exporters Association (BGMEA), Mahmud Hasan Khan endorsed the report stating, “We are getting ready to clear the payments ahead of Eid like previous years.”

Keeping alive the precedent of the previous years, Khan said “We will immediately take steps to conduct zonal meetings and identify the factories which are struggling to clear the payments.” In all, there are 15 zonal crisis management committees for workers in different areas. These include Dhaka, Gazipur, Ashulia, Chittagong, Savar, Naraynganj and Narsingdi.

Khan disclosed that “Till now we have not received any complaints regarding disputes in payment but it is too early to speak as Eid celebrations are quite a bit ahead.”

Sounding a reassuring note, he said, “Firstly, we will identify the vulnerable factories and warn the owners so that they pay in time. The BGMEA never pays the workers from its own fund but in most cases it helps to manage funds from banks in crisis moments.”

He added, “The association will stand by the factory owners who may fail in making the payments. The BGMEA leaders will mediate with the banks, with which the owners do everyday transactions, to help them avail quick loans. In most of the previous cases we have mediated with banks. This initiative worked well and we manage to avert the crisis efficiently.”

The minister of state for labour and employment Mujbul Haque Chunnu chipped in stating, “The meeting of a national crisis management committee would be held at the ministry on May 29.” The crisis management committee is usually headed by a ministerial level person from ministry of labour and employment. The ministry had first inducted the committee in 2010. Ever since, the committee has held meetings ahead of Eid and ensured that the payments of all the factory workers are made smoothly.

Chunnu added, “From the meeting with stakeholders, we will instruct when and how the owners will pay workers ahead of the Eid festival to avert any unrest.” He however, refused to comment on recent media reports which stated that 100 garment factory owners might not be able to make payment to their workers in time for Eid. He reacted with, “I did not receive any such list yet from any agency or any quarter. I cannot say anything in advance.”