More than 80 per cent of the surveyed garment factories paid festival allowance to their workers on Monday, the deadline set by the government, said the BGMEA. The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) monitored a total of 519 of its member factories ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. “Out of the surveyed factories, 82 per cent paid festival allowance, while 11 paid the monthly wage for the month of August,” Mahmud Hasan Khan, vice president of the BGMEA, said. He expressed the hope that the allowance and wages will be paid before holidays begin. Earlier, the government had asked the apparel makers to pay festival allowance and monthly wages by September 5 and 10, respectively. When asked, Sirajul Islam Rony, a labour leader, said, the percentage might be lower than the BGMEA claimed.
