3-day election holiday could hurt exports

The government has already declared February 10 to 12 as general holidays in industrial areas in connection with the national parliamentary election and referendum scheduled for February 12. In response, the Bangladesh EPZ Investors Association has written to the Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority (Bepza), urging it to reconsider the plan. Bepza has said it is reviewing the matter in consultation with relevant stakeholders. Khorshed Alam, executive director (Enterprise Service) of BEPZA, told The Daily Star that the authority received the EPZ investors’ letter yesterday and has already started discussions. “We received the letter on Sunday. We will discuss the matter with all concerned parties, including relevant ministries, stakeholder associations, and factories inside and outside EPZs,” he said. “We will try to ensure that holidays in all industrial areas are observed at the same time during the election period.” He added that BEPZA cannot take a decision on its own and that discussions are ongoing, with a final decision to be made at an executive board meeting. In the letter, EPZ investors said enterprises in the zones follow production and shipment schedules agreed upon with international buyers months in advance, leaving little room for sudden changes. Unplanned holidays, the association warned, would disrupt production, delay shipments and could result in penalties, order cancellations and loss of buyer confidence. Garment factory owners outside EPZs raised similar concerns in a separate letter sent on Saturday to the secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment. They said February already has fewer working days because of Shab-e-Barat, International Mother Language Day and weekly holidays. With the three additional holidays now declared for the election, the number of effective working days would fall to 19, which could seriously disrupt export-oriented garment production. The letter also said global demand for garments has remained weak in recent months, with both orders and prices declining, forcing some factories to shut down. In this situation, factory owners are struggling to manage February wage payments and upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr bonuses. Both garment manufacturers and EPZ investors have urged the government to consider declaring only election day as a mandatory general holiday in industrial areas. As an alternative, they suggested adjusting the holidays on February 10 and 11 against weekly or annual leave through an executive order.