Entrepreneurs Will Receive Special Loans to Pay Workers’ Wages and Allowances

ফাইল ছবি

News Desk: Bangladesh Bank has decided to provide special loan facilities to entrepreneurs to help pay workers’ wages and allowances in export-oriented industries, in an effort to ease ongoing labor unrest caused by the failure to pay regular salaries and benefits.

In this regard, a circular was issued on Tuesday and sent to the chief executives of commercial banks.

According to the circular, commercial banks have been instructed to provide special loan facilities to active export-oriented industrial clients in favor of the relevant institutions. Each company will be eligible to receive a loan equivalent to a maximum of three months’ wages and allowances of its workers and employees. The loan must be repaid within one year, including a three-month grace period. The interest rate will be market-based. The salary payments will be transferred directly by the banks to the workers’ bank accounts. The loan amount will not be handed directly to the entrepreneurs.

Earlier, a delegation from the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association met with the Governor of the central bank and requested special loan facilities to ensure payment of wages and allowances to workers ahead of the upcoming Eid festival. Many ready-made garment workers have been protesting over unpaid wages and benefits, leading to growing labor unrest. As a result, this loan facility is being provided to exporters before Eid.

The circular states that, to pay wages and allowances for the month of February to workers of active export-oriented industries, term loans may be granted outside the existing working capital limit, subject to analysis of the client’s repayment capacity. The loan amount must not exceed the average wages and allowances paid over the past three months. The prevailing market-based interest rate will apply. Scheduled banks will directly deposit February wages and allowances into the respective workers’ bank or mobile banking accounts. The loan will be treated as a term loan, repayable in equal monthly or quarterly installments within a maximum of one year, including a three-month grace period.

The circular further clarifies that industries exporting at least 80 percent of their total production will be considered export-oriented. Those that have paid workers’ wages from November to January will be considered active. Certification from relevant trade bodies (such as BGMEA, BKMEA, etc.) will be required to confirm active and export-oriented status.

No additional interest, profit, fees, or charges—beyond the regular interest—may be imposed on these loans, regardless of the terminology used.

Explaining the rationale behind the special loan facility, the circular notes that due to global and domestic economic challenges, declining export earnings, reduced purchase orders, liquidity shortages, and disruptions in the business environment, production activities in export-oriented industries have been hampered. As a result, these institutions have faced reduced capacity to pay workers’ wages and benefits. Therefore, to maintain production capacity and sustain export momentum, financial assistance to export-oriented industries has become necessary. In this context, the central bank has taken these measures to ensure timely payment of wages and benefits to workers, thereby safeguarding export capacity and maintaining the country’s economic growth.