, March 17 -- Despite clear directives from the government, nearly half of the country's industrial units have failed to clear Eid bonuses for their workers, while one-fourth are still sitting on outstanding wages for February.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment had earlier instructed factory owners to clear February's salaries by March 9 and Eid bonuses by March 12. However, data from the Industrial Police reveals that as of Monday, these deadlines have been largely ignored by a significant number of employers.

According to the Industrial Police, which monitors 10,100 factories across the country, 2,544 units (25 percent) have not yet paid February's wages. Furthermore, 5,007 factories accounting for 45.57 percent of the total are y...