Some 416 factories, including textile and readymade garment (RMG), across the country, except for Dhaka metropolitan area, are 'vulnerable' to labour unrest over payment of wages and festival allowance ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, officials said.
People familiar with the situation said non-payment of dues, variety in festival allowance and workload are among other reasons that might fuel unrest.
Of the total 416 factories vulnerable, 266 are textile and apparel units. Some 171 are the members of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), according to a list of the Industrial Police (IP).
Some 71 are registered with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) and 24 are affiliated with Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA).
The rest 150 are non-RMG factories.
The listed units are located in six IP zones -- Ashulia, Gazipur, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Mymensingh and Khulna areas.
When asked, an IP official said that they are closely monitoring these factories and holding meetings with the factory management for timely payment to avoid any untoward incidents.
Labour leaders attributed absence of fixed festival allowance in garment factories, partial and non-payment of festival allowance, payment of wages and allowances on the last working day before Eid holiday, termination, non-payment of legal benefits and sudden closure or lay-off of factories to the possible risk of unrest.
A meeting of the crisis management core committee under the labour ministry on March 20 failed to fix any deadline for paying monthly wages and festival allowance to the garment workers.
Though the committee had been fixing deadlines for paying wages and festival allowance since 2013, it didn't fix any timeframe for the last few years.
It asked factory owners to pay wages and festival allowance before the eid holidays start.
When asked, BKMEA executive president Mohammad Hatem said they apprehended more factories than the IP-listed ones.
He admitted that IP in a meeting on Monday shared a list of some 171 BGMEA members, 71 BKMEA units and around 24 BTMA units where unrest might take place over timely payments of wage and festival allowance.
Many factories might not be able to pay wages unless they receive cash incentive claims, he said, adding that they are passing through a challenging time as not only the wages but also the bills of all utilities have been increased amid less work orders.
Moreover, he alleged, they are not getting funds from banks against export proceeds. He further requested not to adjust loan installments from export proceeds before the eid to help factories make timely wage payment.
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