A good number of garment factories across the country, except for the ones in Dhaka metropolitan area, are yet to implement the new wage structure, industry insiders said.
They said the incidences of non-compliance in this regard are high in the knitwear sub-sector as they paid January wage following the old ones.
Exporters and sector leaders said the industry has been passing through a tough time due to factors like a fall in global demand, an increase in cost of production due to high utility costs and the ongoing dollar crisis.
According to data from the law enforcing agencies, 46.92 per cent or 312 garment factories out of 665 units paid December 2023 wages in January 2024 as per the old wage structure set in 2018.
The factories are listed with Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) at different industrial belts under the jurisdiction of Industrial Police (IP).
Some 23.16 per cent or 355 garment factories registered with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) out of 1,533 units located in the belts also paid their workers following the old wage structure set in 2018.
Majority of the BGMEA (76.84 per cent) and BKMEA (53.08 per cent) factories, however, paid the December 2023 wages following the new structure, it showed.
The units are located in six IP zones - Ashulia, Gazipur, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Mymensingh and Khulna areas.
The government in November last year set Tk 12,500 as minimum monthly wage for an entry level garment worker effective from December 2023 which was Tk 8,000 set in 2018.
Sources at Industrial Police said the workers in some factories protested over the wage and grade issues as they found low or no hike in a few grades.
Talking to the FE, they said the workers accepted the old structures and did not take to the street in fear of losing jobs amid the difficult time, when the factories are facing a number of challenges including lesser work orders.
They also said that following the wage hike in garment factories, many workers from textile mills also protested and some textile and jute mills as well as other factories were forced to make an increase in wages.
Some 30 mills out of 344 that are members of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) paid enhanced wages on special consideration while the rest 344 paid following the old structure.
The government on January 15 appointed representatives from the owners and the workers in the cotton textile industry to the minimum wage board after workers from many of the textile mills staged demonstrations in several industrial areas and demanded a pay hike.
When asked, BGMEA President Faruque Hassan, however, disagreed with the percentage, saying almost all their member units implemented the new wage structure.
Few mostly sub-contracting factories might not be able to implement the new wage structure last month but they will pay the dues later, he noted.
Responding to the FE, Mohammad Hatem, executive president of BKMEA, said: "None of the factories have informed us whether they implement the new structure or not."
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