Bangladesh: Garment workers at 46 garment & textile factories reportedly owed wages, as 60 factories close due to global recession
အကျဉ်းချုပ်
Date Reported: 23 Nov 2023
Location: Bangladesh
Companies
Crystal Composite - Supplier , Woolworths Holdings - Former buyerAffected
Total individuals affected: Number unknown
Workers: ( Number unknown - Location unknown , Clothing & textile , Gender not reported )Issues
Purchasing practices: Order volume , Impacts on Livelihoods , Wage TheftResponse
Response sought: Yes, by BHRRC
Story containing response: (Find out more)
Action taken: Crystal Composite allegedly supplies to Woolworths South Africa; Woolworths South Africa provided a response to a request for comment from the Resource Centre, stating the factory had not produced for Woolworths since 2022.
Source type: News outlet
"46 Wage arrears in garment factories", 23 November 2023
Forty-six factories in the readymade garments sector have not been able to pay wages. The arrears are due from January to September this year. However, bgmea...claims that salaries are pending in four to five factories. In addition, 60 factories have been closed due to the global recession and financial crisis.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry sent a letter to the Industrial Police, BGMEA, BKMEA and BTMA as a precaution, fearing worker dissatisfaction over the pending wages.
Commerce Ministry, BGMEA and Industrial Police sources said this information.
An official of the Commerce Ministry said that...wages of several factories for the months of August and September were pending...
According to the industrial police, wages of 46 factories in the readymade garments and textile sector are pending. Of these, 30 are member companies of BGMEA, 13 factories of BKMEA and three factories of BTMA.
Crystal Composite Limited of Ashulia is one of the companies with wage arrears.
According to the industrial police report, the company has pending wages for the months of May, June and September. Sultan Ahmed, managing director of the company, said, "We paid the wages of the workers in installments on October 28. The salaries of our employees are being paid through the Directorate of Inspection of Factories and Institutions. ’
Sultan Ahmed said, "The factory had to be closed due to financial crisis and lack of adequate work. We have been contributing to the garment industry for 30 years.
Our factory employed 2,000 workers. I have been exempted from the bank three times as a good customer. Even then, it was not possible to survive...
WHEN asked about this, BGMEA Senior Vice President SM Mannan Kachi said that about 350 factories have been closed since the global epidemic Corona. Of these, 60 factories have closed this year.
[Translation via Google Translate]