Readymade garments (RMG) workers will get their salary for the month of March and Eid bonus before the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays begin, State Minister for the Labour and Employment Ministry Nazrul Islam Chowdhury said today (20 March).
Besides, the industrial police, the labour department, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishment, and intelligence agencies will work together to ensure there is no disorder in this country’s largest export sector before Eid, he told reporters after attending the 17th meeting of the tripartite advisory council on RMG sector at the Secretariat.
Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of Muslims, is expected to be celebrated on 10 or 11 April, depending on the sighting of the moon.
“There is no fear of any kind of worker dissatisfaction with Eid-ul-Fitr ahead. Because both owners and workers are working together to solve their problems in a friendly environment. Many problems have already been solved. And the problems that have not been solved, the government will take initiative to solve them,” State Minister Nazrul said without providing any details as to what the problems are.
Replying to a query on when the salary and Eid bonus of RMG workers will be paid, he said, “The salary and bonus will be paid to the workers before the Eid holiday. But no specific date has been set.”
“We do not know when the owner of a factory will be able to pay and when they won’t be. We have instructed that the salary and bonus must be paid before the Eid holiday,” Nazrul noted.
The state minister further said no worker can be laid off before Eid.
“It is a strict directive from the government for the owners,” he stated.
Nazrul said the representatives of the workers and the owners have demanded that the garment workers be given rations.
The Ministry of Labour is supportive of this initiative and believes it can be implemented. The proposal awaits the prime minister’s approval, and a decision on the ration system is expected soon.
