Ninety percent of the factory owners have cleared their Eid payroll, with the rest expected to complete it by today, said the president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA).

“Almost every year a section of garment workers is seen demonstrating before the festival due to some factory owners' failure to make timely payments,” said BGMEA's president Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin.

Mohiuddin spoke at a press conference organised at the BGMEA office in the capital.

“There should not be any kind of untoward incident this year as the owners have paid the workers timely,” he said, adding that he was pleased with the state of law and order in the garment sector so far.

He said the trade body formed 9 regional and 15 central monitoring committees to oversee the salary payment situation.

“Furthermore, we have suggested the owners to leave plenty of time for their workers to reach their villages for the Eid festival,” Mohiuddin said.

He added that according to his reports members of the regional and monitoring committees have visited more than 800 garment factories.

Mohiuddin said the BGMEA encourages foreign direct investments in specialised segments as the basic garment sector is self-sufficient.

The country's garment sector is going through a difficult period because of the continued economic crisis in Europe and the sluggish recovery of the US economy.

“This is why we are exploring new markets in China, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and South Africa, and encouragingly, exports to new destinations have increased by 12 percent.”

“But the problem is that our profit margins are narrowing down every year.”