Several trade union leaders yesterday demanded payment of wages and festival allowances for the RMG workers by 20th Ramadan to avert untoward incidents.
They made the demand at a human chain under the banner of Garment Shramik Sangram Parishad in front of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) at Karwan Bazar in the city yesterday.
The programme aimed at mounting pressure on the factory owners to pay wages and bonus within the stated timeline.
“Most of the garment workers fail to enjoy Eid with their family members due to either non-payment or delay in payment of wages and festival allowances,” said Taslima Akter, president of Garment Shramik Sanghati.
If any untoward incident or unrest occurs in the RMG sector in the wake of non-payment, the BGMEA, government and the factory owners will have to take the responsibility, she said.
“It is very unfortunate that the amount of festival allowances for RMG workers is yet to be fixed,” said Mahbubur Rahman Ismail, president of Bangladesh Textile Garment Workers Federation.
The present government claims to be worker-friendly, but has so far failed to determine the amount of festival allowances for garment workers though it pays accordingly – equivalent to one month basic pay – for public servants, he added.
The RMG trade union leaders also placed a memorandum to the BGMEA, demanding payment of full wages for the month of June and half for the month of July by 20th Ramadan.
They also demanded festival allowance, equivalent to one month basic pay, and bonus for the sweater factory workers who work on a piece-rate basis.
The leaders also asked the factory owners not to terminate any workers from their jobs before Eid ul-Fitr.
