Workers from more than 10 per cent of Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) factories and textile mills have not received their festival allowances as of 28 March, just days before Eid-ul-Fitr, the largest religious festival for Muslims, which is expected to be celebrated on 31 March.

The latest report from the Industrial Police said that while 90 per cent of factories have paid festival allowances for Eid-ul-Fitr, 299 factories have not yet made the payments.

It also revealed that 1,179 RMG and textile units in various industrial hubs have yet to pay wages for March. So far, 1,711 factories—59.2 per cent of the total 2,890 operational units—have completed wage payments for the month.

A total of 102 readymade garment (RMG) and textile factories have yet to pay their workers’ wages for February, according to a report released by the Industrial Police on Friday.

The report said that there are currently 2,890 operational factories under the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA), the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA) and the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (BEPZA).

Of these, 2,788 factories have already paid their workers for February.

The IP data also revealed that the country has a total of 9,695 factories, including jute mills and others.

IP data showed that 8,039 factories or 83 per cent of the total have cleared festival allowances and 5,343 or 55 per cent factories have cleared the wages for March.

According to the BGMEA Factory Monitoring Report released on Friday, around 2,054 units—97 per cent of the 2,106 operational RMG factories in the Dhaka and Chattogram zones—have successfully disbursed their Eid allowances.

Additionally, 99.62 per cent, or 2,099 factories, have cleared February wages for their workers.

The report also indicated that 1,960 factories, or 93 per cent, have paid their workers either half or full wages for March.

According to the Bangladesh Labour Law, 2006, workers’ wages from the previous month must be paid within the first seven working days of the following month.

Meanwhile, the BGMEA has announced that wage and allowance payments for sector workers will be completed ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Following BGMEA’s request, the government took advance measures, instructing banks to release incentive funds, said a BGMEA statement issued on Thursday night.

BGMEA Administrator Mohammad Anwar Hossain expressed his appreciation for the garment sector’s entrepreneurs, recognising their dedicated efforts to ensure the timely payment of wages and festival allowances, despite facing significant challenges.