A meeting of the crisis management core committee under labour ministry ended on Monday, without fixing any deadline for paying the monthly wages and festival allowances to the country's garment workers.
Besides, leaders from the apparel sector proposed to pay wages for 15 days of May before Eid, meeting sources said.
"We did not fix any date for paying the wages and festival allowances, but told the garment factory owners to pay before the Eid vacation starts," state minister for labour Monnujan Sufian told reporters after the meeting.
There is a tripartite consultative committee (TCC) to address any issue related to the readymade garment sector, she said, adding the TCC will sit soon and address the issues, including ensuring payment of wages and festival allowance before Eid.
Responding to a question, she said the TCC might fix a deadline in this regard.
Terming the apparel sector leaders' demand to pay wages for 15 days before Eid 'not logical', the minister said the workers usually receive monthly wages within 10 days of next month.
The minister was talking to reporters after the 41st meeting of the core committee held at her secretariat office. The committee, traditionally, instructs the garment factory owners to pay monthly wages and festival allowance before Eid by fixing a date.
The government formed the crisis management core committee in 2013 to monitor the labour situation in all industrial sectors, including readymade garment (RMG), and address labour issues.
Labour secretary Ummul Hasna, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) Dr Rubana Huq, inspector general of Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE) Shibnath Roy, high officials from different law enforcing agencies and labour leaders were present in the meeting.
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