Staff Reporter :
Tannery workers in Hemayetpur and Hazaribagh are struggling with debt as their current income fails to keep up with inflation and the rising prices of daily essentials.
In response, the Tannery Workers Union (TWU) is advocating for a minimum wage of Tk 25,000 for leather workers, highlighting the dire circumstances these workers face.
A recent study by TWU revealed that many workers are burdened by various debts due to insufficient income.
This issue was discussed during a joint consultation organized by TWU and the Bangladesh Labour Rights Journalists Forum at a city hotel on Friday.
During the keynote presentation, Abdul Maleque, General Secretary of TWU, emphasized the dire situation facing tannery workers amidst soaring prices of daily essentials and job losses.
Maleque said , “The prices of daily essentials have skyrocketed. The taka has been devalued, making life and livelihoods difficult for leather workers.”
He further added, “Based on our study, we have determined that the minimum wage for leather workers should be Tk 25,000 for fifth grade, Tk 29,000 for fourth grade, Tk 33,000 for third grade, Tk 39,000 for second grade, and Tk 45,265 for first grade.”
Addressing the issue of job losses, Maleque highlighted, “Tannery factory owners are laying off skilled and experienced workers, opting for unskilled and contractual labor, which is adversely affecting the quality of leather goods.”
Moreover, he underscored that tannery industry owners are failing to obtain Leather Working Group certification due to unfavorable working conditions for both workers and the environment.
“The owners want to make quick money without caring the health of the workers who deal with many hazardous chemicals during the leather processing,” he said.
TWU conducted the study among 52 workers and of them 15 were from Hazaribagh and 37 from Hemayetpur. Among those interviewed workers, 20 were female and 32 were male working in 15 factories.
At least 47 out of 52 respondents or 86.4 per cent revealed that they have debt. Almost all the workers who participated in the research are now in debt, and the average amount of this debt is Tk. 1,01,889.
Among others, Azizul Haque Bhuiyan, adviser of Bangladesh Labour Rights Journalists Forum, Abul Kalam Azad, President of TWU, AKM Nasim, Country Programme Director of Solidarity Centre-Bangladesh, Monika Hartsel, Deputy Country Programme Director, Solidarity Centre-Bangladesh and Ataur Rahman, General Secretary of Bangladesh Labour Rights Journalists Forum, were present.
Azizul Haque Bhuiyan said that the loan defaulters get relieve out of their debts, but the workers do not get due wages.
“The owner of the garment factories get Tk11,00 crore as incentives, but the workers come to the streets only for their fair minimum wages,” he said.
The other speakers also shared their views to build an environment friendly leather factories so that the owners and the workers can be benefitted equally.
