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Pay wages, allowance by July 25

Govt asks factory owners


FE REPORT | Thursday, 16 July 2020


The government has asked the owners of all factories in the industrial sector, including the readymade garment (RMG) units, to pay the wages for July and the festival allowance to their workers by July 25, sources said.
The request came at a meeting of the labour and employment ministry with the leaders of the Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP) at Sromo Bhaban in the city on Wednesday, with state minister for labour and employment Monnujan Sufian in the chair.
The meeting was informed that Eid-ul Azha is scheduled to be observed on July 31 or August 01 and the Eid holidays would begin accordingly.
At the meeting, the labour leaders demanded full payment of wages for July and the festival allowance, meeting sources said.
They also urged the government to take necessary measures to put an end to termination of workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Bangladesh Garment Workers' Solidarity demanded payment of festival allowance by July 20 and full payment of wages for July before the Eid holidays.
They placed the demands at a human chain they organised in front of the National Press Club in the city on Wednesday, says a statement.
Concern and anxiety are mounting for the workers ahead of the Eid, they said, adding that the workers are in dire straits and facing the risk of losing jobs amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Their other demands included an end to termination of workers and formation of an emergency fund by factory owners, buyers and the government.
They said a meeting is scheduled to be held at the home ministry today (Thursday) to discuss the issue of wages and festival allowance. The home ministry wants to resolve the workers' issues, they said.
They also alleged that the government wants to tackle the labour movement through making arrests, filing cases and using the police to torture them.
They also suggested reducing working hours and increasing the number of shifts to engage more workers in the production process in order to overcome the Covid-19 impacts.

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