Originally posted in The Daily Star on 27 November 2023
New wage board formed for tannery workers
The government recently formed a five-member wage board to fix a new minimum salary for tannery workers in Bangladesh without including a single representative from among the workers, according to industry people.
They also alleged that the last wage board, gazetted in 2018, had not been implemented.
Tannery workers supply a key raw material for the leather and leather goods industry, the country’s second-highest export earner after the garments sector.
“The wage board was formed without any representative of the tannery workers,” said Abul Kalam Azad, president of the Tannery Workers’ Union (TWU).
The committee also includes one person who has no affiliation with the industry, he added.
Against this backdrop, Azad urged the government to reshuffle the wage board for tannery workers formed on August 1 this year, and to include a member of their union.
On February 27, 2018, the government published a gazette on the 4th wage board, under which tannery workers were entitled to a minimum salary of Tk 13,500.
Additionally, they were to be given a five percent annual increment in basic wages.
However, tannery owners did not implement this measure even though the five-year tenure has already passed, Azad added.
Now, leaders of the TWU are demanding a new minimum wage of Tk 25,000 per month for workers.
Azad also informed that they had placed a 12-point demand to the government, which includes ensuring that factory owners comply with social and environmental safety standards.
Additionally, he alleged that factory owners are indifferent regarding occupational hazards.
“To date, neither a hospital nor medical centre has been set up for tannery workers despite long-standing demands,” he said.
Workers also face layoffs and harassment tantamount to torture, Azad added.
As per data of the Bangladesh Tanners Association (BTA), there are around 200 tanneries in the country. 127 of them are based in the tannery industrial area of Savar, Dhaka.
Md Mizanur Rahman, vice-chairman of the BTA, said owners could not implement the last wage board for two reasons, namely the Covid-19 pandemic and a lack of Leather Working Group (LWG) certification.
“Due to the lack of LWG certificates, we cannot get fair prices from global buyers looking to buy finished or semi-finished leather,” said Rahman, who is a member of the new wage board committee.
As a result, tannery owners have to sell their products to Chinese buyers at prices that are 30 percent lower than their original value, he added.
According to Rahman, also a director of Samota Leather Complex Ltd, they now sell tanned or finished leather for $0.80 per square foot on average, whereas they could get at least $1.20 if they had LWG certification.
Rahman also said Bangladesh can produce about 300 million square feet of finished and semi-finished leather each year.
Of all the leather produced, 80 percent is exported due to a dearth of local manufacturers capable of effectively using the material for export products in the absence of LWG certification.
According to him, Bangladesh produces finished and semi-finished leather worth $240 million each year.
Rahman also said the Covid-19 pandemic seriously affected their production and profits.
“So, we could not implement the wage board even though we were positive about it,” he added.
Md Towfiqul Arif, an additional secretary of the labour ministry, said the minimum wage structure is usually decided through dialogue between representatives of owners and workers on the board.
“So, both owners and workers are responsible for its execution,” he added.
Arif informed that if a factory owner does not follow the declared wage board, then the workers can file a complaint to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments.
Khondaker Golam Moazzem, research director at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said it is good that initiatives were being taken to ensure a new minimum salary for tannery workers.
Moazzem, also an industrial economist, said setting a new wage board for tannery workers is important as the existing salary structure is not reasonable, especially considering the rising living costs.
Additionally, he suggested disclosing the wage board’s meeting minutes to ensure transparency.
Razequzzaman Ratan, president of the Samajtantrik Sramik Front (Socialist Labour Front), said a new wage structure for tannery workers was important for three reasons: to improve their livelihood, increase the quality of production, and maintain an adequate balance in salary compared to other sectors.
According to Ratan, tannery workers are vital for the leather industry, which has significant prospects in diversifying the country’s exports.
“So, it is necessary to reshuffle the wage board to involve a workers’ representative,” he said, adding that owners should emphasise improving their production capacities.