522 industrial units may spew unrest

About 522 textile, jute and ready-made garment factories are exposed to labour unrest over non-payment of wages and festival allowances.
Officials said varying bonus amounts, leave as per workers' demand, workload ahead of Eid, claims of torture and factory closures are the key reasons.
The Industrial Police (IP) has prepared a list of 522 'problematic units' that might spew unrest across the country over the issues.
The list included garment factories, textile mills, jute mills, re-rolling mills, they mentioned.
The officials concerned have already started talks with those 'delinquent' factory authorities.
Of the units, some 125 are located in Dhaka, 190 in Gazipur, 74 in Chattogram, 86 in Narayanganj, 37 in Mymensingh and 11 in Khulna, according to IP sources.
Some units remain unregistered with Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) or Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), they added.
Some 7,557 industrial units are under the IP's purview.
Besides, the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments is monitoring some 261 factories it identified as vulnerable to unrest ahead of Eid.
"We're monitoring some 1000 of our member factories over the payment issue," SM Mannan Kochi, BGMEA vice-president, told the FE.
Meanwhile, rights bodies have demanded full payment of monthly wages for the month of August and festival allowances by August 16.
On the other hand, labour ministry instructed factory owners to pay festival allowances by August 16.
It also called for talks between owners and workers for partial payment of wages by August 19.
The owners will be held responsible for any turmoil created over non-payment of wages and allowances, labour leaders warned.
On Monday, garment workers and leaders from Garment Sramik Odhikar Andolon, a platform of 12 rights organisations, rallied outside the National Press Club.
They pressed for wages and allowances by August 16.
They also demanded an end to workers' repression in different industrial zones and announcement of Tk 16,000 as minimum monthly wage by next September.
National Garment Workers Employees League president Sirajul Islam Rony said the matter of non-payment of wages declined in recent years.
However, there are still a good number of factories where workers are worried over getting their wages and allowances, he mentioned.
Mr Rony requested the government to fix an amount, equal to the basic pay, as festival allowance.
In many cases, he alleged, workers' allowances depend on the size of their workplaces.
According to the BGMEA, about 4,300 factories are listed with the apex body of apparel makers.
Some 900 factories listed with the BKMEA are currently in operation.

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