Most RMG factories have paid workers before Eid: BGMEA

More than 99 percent of the garment factories under the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) have paid workers’ wages for February by Thursday, with around 95 percent disbursing Eid festival allowances, according to the industry body.

BGMEA Administrator and Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Vice-Chairman Anwar Hossain provided the update to bdnews24.com, saying 99.53 percent of member factories had cleared February wages by 3pm on Thursday.

“Nearly 95 percent of the factories have also disbursed Eid bonuses. A handful of factories may not be able to pay a portion of March salaries before Eid, but all will manage to pay the full February salaries and bonuses,” he said.

Factories will continue to pay salaries and bonuses until the day before Eid, he added.

Some factories faced issues on Thursday, but BGMEA intervened early to resolve them in the interest of workers, ensuring there were no pending concerns.

To facilitate salary disbursements, Bangladesh Bank has instructed banks in industrial areas to remain open on Friday and Saturday before Eid.

Among BGMEA’s 2,107 active member factories, 1,769 are located in Dhaka, while 338 operate in Chattogram.

BGMEA has formed a monitoring committee to oversee payments of Eid bonuses, February salaries, and a portion of March wages.

According to the committee’s report, 1,997 factories, or 94.78 percent of members, had disbursed Eid bonuses by Thursday.

February salaries had been cleared by 2,097 factories, accounting for 99.53 percent.

These factories have no outstanding salary payments, and those that have completed their payments began their Eid holidays on Mar 26.

On Thursday, 374 more factories started their holidays, bringing the total to 535 in the past two days.

The remaining factories will begin their holidays between Mar 28 and Mar 29.

BGMEA and Industrial Police data initially flagged 245 factories as at risk of facing difficulties in salary and bonus disbursements.

BGMEA’s monitoring committee visited these factories and resolved most issues.

However, 11 factories were still struggling to pay as of Thursday.

“Our committee and law-enforcing agencies are closely monitoring these factories, and we hope the issues will be resolved before Eid,” said Anwar.

“We are preparing daily reports on the situation,” he added.

A tripartite consultative council (TCC) meeting on Mar 13 set a deadline of the 20th Ramadan for factories to pay salaries, Eid bonuses, and a portion of March wages.

The government expedited the release of stimulus funds against export earnings to support entrepreneurs in meeting these payments.

A total of Tk 22 billion was disbursed in three phases through banks this year, compared with Tk 7 billion in 2024.

According to BGMEA’s report, by 3pm Thursday, 1,753 factories—83.2 percent of members—had paid a portion of March wages.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Employment’s separate report showed among the 2,886 operational garment factories under the BGMEA, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), and Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA), 2,768 had paid February salaries by Thursday.

Eid bonuses were disbursed by 2,167 factories, while 462 had paid part of March salaries.

In contrast, across all industrial sectors, including jute mills and other factories, 9,695 units were in operation.

Of these, 1,835 had cleared March wages, while 6,673 had paid Eid bonuses.