Garment workers are deprived of their desired festival allowances ahead of every Eid for what experts and labour leaders described as loopholes in the law.
Usually workers of other sectors get one month's basic pay as festival allowances.
But many apparel-factory owners were not following the practice, labour leaders alleged with barely two days to go before celebrating one of the two largest Muslim religious festivals.
Before Eid, every year, labour unrest breaks out over non-payment of wages and the payment of festival allowances at varied rates, they have pointed out.
There is no clear directive about festival allowances for garment workers in the existing labour law. And many of the factory owners take this advantage and hand out the festival allowances less than the basic amount. In some cases, they provide festival allowance at the rate of only Tk 500 per head, the labour leaders have alleged.
They have demanded a fixed amount-the basic pay of one month-as the festival allowance for all workers by incorporating a provision on it in the labour law.
"Irregularities over payment of festival allowances are happening in the garment units, mainly because nothing is made clear in the labour law regarding this," Sirajul Islam Rony, president of Bangladesh National Garment Workers-Employees League, told the Financial Express.
Many owners were taking the advantage of the law's silence about it and providing festival allowances lower than the basic amount, he said. In many cases the amounts ranged only between Tk 500 and 700.
There are, however, many factories that provide festival allowance equal to the basic pay.
While admitting this, the trade union leader pointed out that such a disparity might trigger labour unrest in the adjacent units, when they would see they were getting a lower amount.
Roy Ramesh Chandra, secretary-general of IndustriAll Bangladesh Council, said the law should be equal for all. The provision with a clear directive about festival allowance must be incorporated in the law.
"Workers are getting festival allowances conventionally and it should be equal to the basic payment," he added.
Workers were being deprived of proper festival allowances in the absence of a clear directive in the law, said Trade Union Centre secretary Wazedul Islam Khan. "Some owners are also taking its advantage, which is an unhealthy practice."
The Industrial Police in a recent report to the government authorities concerned conveyed their apprehension about labour unrest in about 500 garment factories, mainly over payment of wages and festival allowances.
There have already been some outbreaks of unrest in factory areas.
On the other hand, an intelligence agency report has identified the demand for festival allowance as one of the major reasons for labour unrest ahead of Eid.
"Workers of different garment factories get festival allowances in different ranges, which results in the labour unrest," the report has mentioned. Sometimes the rates vary between two adjacent factories.
Owners plan to provide the festival allowance just before the holiday starts, which the workers are not well-informed of, it has said. And this leads to rumour or doubt among the workers that owners may not pay the allowance. Or if they do, it would be a lesser amount.
Director-General of the Industrial Police Abdus Salam said the nature of unrest ahead of Eid was civil, not criminal in nature.
He suggested incorporation of a common set of rules in the law so that all garment workers could get an equal amount in festival allowance as provided for transportation and food purposes.
"Earlier, transport and food allowances were provided only in the units located in Ashulia and Gazipur. Now all factories comply with this rule as doing so has been made mandatory by law," he explained.
When contacted, Ban gladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) vice-president Shahidullah Azim said all factories provide festival allowances conventionally, though it is not legally binding.
"It depends on the business capacity of a factory," he said, adding there are incidents of unrest over the issue, but the number is very negligible--four to five units.
He expressed the hope that the problems in those units would be resolved shortly before the Eid vacation.
