Tannery workers demand 'Tannery Board' to ensure rights

Tannery Workers Union (TWU), an association of tannery workers, has urged the government and authorities concerned to press home their a charter of demands.

Tannery Workers Union (TWU), an association of tannery workers, has urged the government and authorities concerned to press home their a charter of demands, including formation of 'Tannery Board' and new wage board for them to fix minimum wages of Taka 25,000 and ensure their job security.
The other demands include: setting-up a 50-bed hospital for tannery workers and others concerned, ensure social compliance including full implementation of maternity welfare facilities, full implementation of waste management and CETP to build an eco-friendly and modern leather city, and move towards achieving the Leather Working Group (LWG) certificate, reports BSS.
TWU president Abul Kalam Azad on Monday raised their demands at a "Consultation Meeting with Journalists" at a city hotel her this afternoon.
Placing a charter of demands regarding the rights of workers in the tannery industry in line with the existing labour law of the country, he said, "We earlier raised our demand to form a 'Tannery Board like Tea Board, tannery workers training institute to make them efficient, a wage board nearly five years ago but its recommendations were not executed so far."
Solidarity Center-Bangladesh Office organized the 'Consultation meeting of Tannery Workers Union with Bangladesh Labour Rights Journalists Forum (BLRJF)' with BLRJF president Kazi Abdul Hannan in chair.
TWU General Secretary Abdul Malek, BLRJF General Secretary Md Ataur Rahman, Programme Officer of Solidarity Center-Bangladesh Office Nazrul Islam, Vice-president Mujibur Rahman and Joint Secretary Alamgir Hossain, Treasurer Al Mamun and Training and Research Secretary Md Sahidul Islam Rana, among others, took part in the discussion.
TWU president Azad said the workers are facing a tough time after shifting of the tanneries from Hazaribag to Savar and urged the government as well as the tannery owners to take special care to save the second largest export-earning industry, which is now at a stake.
"To achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 with the target of 10 billion US dollars export income from the leather industry, owners and tannery workers must work together," TWU General Secretary Abdul Malek said.
He said the country's leather industry is now facing a threat due to lack of proper strategic plan and producing quality products in the competitive world, he also put emphasis on ensuring social compliance in the leather industry and to take pragmatic steps to regain its lost image.
He said in the tannery industries of Savar Tannery Estate, occupational hazards pose significant challenges to the workers processing raw hides while the workers are facing a tough time after shifting of the tanneries from Hazaribag to Savar.
Workers voiced their grievances about the lack of regularisation, appointment letters, decent work environments, medical facilities, housing, and recreational activities, all of which are essential for ensuring world-standard productivity and well-beings.
Adding to the woes, the workers expressed concerns about the unfair termination of skilled and experienced personnel by tannery owners, who seek to cut costs by hiring unskilled labor.
Md Foyez, a tannery worker aged about 43 with 22 years of experience, shared his ordeal of not receiving an appointment letter despite years of service.
Talking to journalists, he also highlighted the lack of immediate treatment for workers who sustain injuries while handling raw hides and chemical substances.
Bangladesh leather industry is ranked second in terms of export earnings, where over five lakh workers work in about 206 tanneries countrywide. Because of its high value addition, huge growth and employment opportunities, leather sector has already been declared a top priority sector.
Bangladesh accounts for 3 percent share in the global leather and products market. The GDP growth at over 5 percent over the last decade shows the strength of the economy and its resilience, according to an official report.