Govt to clear Beximco worker dues before Ramadan
The government will clear salary arrears and service benefits of over 27,000 laid-off workers of Beximco Group within this month, ahead of Ramadan, said Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain yesterday.
However, the amount of funds required and its source are yet to be determined, he said, adding that it may come from government sources or from the sale of Beximco Group's companies.
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The matter will be decided in a meeting scheduled for February 18, the adviser said at a press briefing after a meeting of advisers at the shipping ministry in Bangladesh Secretariat.
The government has been trying to sell shares of Beximco Group's profitable units, but it may face difficulties in selling shares owned by the group's owners, the adviser said
The meeting will be attended by managing directors of banks which had provided massive amounts of loans to the group, he said.
When asked about the government's promise of finding jobs for the workers, Hussain said the workers were skilled and would not face any hurdle in finding a job.
The monthly rate of internal migration involving garment factories in Bangladesh varies between 7 percent and 8 percent, he said.
Still, the government will try to find jobs for them, he added.
The government has been trying to sell shares of Beximco Group's profitable units, but it may face difficulties in selling shares owned by the group's owners, said Hussain.
The government will sell shares of two of the group's companies to pay worker salaries at 13 production units owned by the conglomerate, he said.
He said different banks provided more than Tk 40,000 crore in loans to Beximco Group, yet the value of all of its assets was not even close to it.
Of the loans, Tk 28,544 crore was taken by the group's 32 textile and apparel subsidiaries. Of those 32 factories, 16 exist only on paper.
Beximco owes Janata Bank Tk 23,285 crore, Sonali Bank Tk 1,424 crore, Agrani Bank Tk 420 crore, Rupali Bank Tk 987 crore, National Bank Tk 315 crore, and United Commercial Bank Tk 333 crore.
It also owes AB Bank Tk 938 crore, Exim Bank Tk 497 crore, Global Islami Bank Tk 61 crore, Dutch Bangla Bank Tk 94 crore, IFIC Bank Tk 78 crore and Bangladesh Infrastructure Finance Fund around Tk 87 crore.
At the press conference, Commerce Adviser Sk Bashir Uddin said the prices of edible oil may come down within the next 7 to 10 days as importers were getting imported oil released from the Chattogram port.
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