"RMG industry entrepreneurs worried about payment of July salaries", 2 August 2024

The ready-made garments (RMG) industry of the country was already in crisis due to various pressures...The sector has suffered as a result of the internet outage and general holidays. Many business owners struggled to deliver items on schedule. They are concerned about receiving bills on time as a result.

The entrepreneurs in this scenario are concerned about paying employees’ salaries for July. They want a bank loan at two percent interest for this. In a letter to Finance Minister Abul Hasan Mahmud Ali, the Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) requested a six-month postponement of loan installments.

Mohammad Hatem, Executive President of BKMEA said, “...Many people will not be able to pay their salary for July. So we have urged that Bangladesh Bank should instruct to give a loan at 2 per cent interest for payment of salary for July. This loan should be for one year, and we will repay it in installments every month.”

He said, “...In the coming months, the situation will get worse, not better. Where I cannot pay the salary, how to pay the instalments of the loan? So we demand that the loan be suspended for the next six months without interest.”

President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association Mohammad Ali Khokon has also written to the Finance Minister to arrange payment for the current month’s salary as a loan from the bank for 1 year at a maximum interest rate of 2 per cent. At the same time, he urged to provide a loan at the same interest rate (2 per cent) to facilitate the payment of gas and electricity bills for the current month of July.

According to traders in this industry, there is a container backlog because the port has been closed for several days owing to the shutdown and curfew. Due to this, a lot of exporters are compelled to transport their goods by air to make up for the delay...