Govt asks factories to pay Eid allowances by May 21

FE REPORT
The government has directed all factory owners to pay festival allowances to workers by May 21, ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Adha.
Factory authorities were also asked to consult workers and decide on May wage payments in case of advance disbursement before Eid.
The government further advised the factory owners to grant Eid holidays in phases to ease travel congestion during the homebound rush.
The directives were announced following the 95th meeting of the Tripartite Consultative Council (TCC) and the 24th TCC meeting focused on the ready-made garment (RMG) sector, held at the CIRDAP auditorium in the capital on Thursday.
Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Chowdhury announced the decisions of the meeting, which was presided over by Labour Secretary Abdur Rahman Tarafdar. Bangladesh Employers' Federation President Fazlee Shamim Ehsan, along with senior leaders from BGMEA, BKMEA, and other workers' rights organisations attended the meeting. During the meeting, labour leaders urged immediate government intervention against factories that have yet to clear pending wages.
They emphasised that timely disbursement of wages and festival allowances would prevent labour unrest in industrial zones.
They also demanded that May wages also be paid before the Eid holidays begin.
According to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), out of 2,140 listed operational units, 95 factories in the Dhaka zone and 79 in Chattogram had not yet paid April wages as of Thursday. Three factories in Dhaka were also pending payment of March wages.
Meanwhile, rights groups under the banner of Bangladesh Trade Union Center staged a protest rally in front of the National Press Club in the morning, pressing for rationing facilities for workers, a Tk 30,000 national basic wage, and sector-wise minimum wage fixation.
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