Pay salary, bonus by April 28

The government has instructed factory owners to pay their workers' salaries, bonuses and arrears for March and April by April 28, following which a public holiday marking Eid-ul-Fitr will begin.

Monnujan Sufian, state minister for labour and employment, issued the directive at a meeting with trade union leaders and factory and industry owners at Shrama Bhaban in Dhaka yesterday.

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Sufian also asked the owners to take note of the public holidays in their planning for resuming operations after the celebrations.

She urged the owners to pay workers at least 15 days' salary for April if they find it difficult to pay that for the whole month.

Paying the whole month's salary will be highly appreciated as the Eid will be celebrated on the first week of May, she said.

The instruction is applicable for all formal, informal, public and private companies and enterprises, Sufian said.

However, she said that since there are some challenges pertaining to the shipment of goods, the holiday could be deferred in some cases or workers could be asked to work even during the holiday.

In such cases, consultations are needed among the factory owners, trade union leaders and workers so that any kind of untoward incident can be avoided, she added.

Sufian also suggested that the owners allow holidays in phases or sequentially according to zones to avoid traffic congestion on roads and highways.

Union leaders, representatives of the factory owners of different industrial sectors and government high-ups participated in the meeting.