The Centre for Policy Dialogue on Saturday recommended that the tannery industry workers should get at least Tk 22,776 as minimum wage amid high inflation in the country, as well as unified grading system so that the workers could get promotions in their workplaces.
The CPD proposed these at a discussion on a research titled 鈥楶roposal for minimum wage for the Bangladeshi tannery industry in 2024鈥�, organised by the local think tank at its office in the capital Dhaka.
The study was based on Anker鈥檚 method, considering factors such as food and non-food expenses of the family, the number of household members, the number of earning members and ensuring a certain percentage of savings.
Centre for Policy Dialogue research director Khondaker Golam Moazzem led the study team.
Tamim Ahmed, senior research associate of the CPD, presented the findings of the research in the discussion.
He pointed out the facts that a minimum wage for each of the five grades was set for the workers of the tannery industry in 2018 by the wage board, but about 69 per cent of the tanneries did not practice any sort of grading till date.
In the key presentation of the findings of CPD鈥檚 research, he further said that about 60 per cent of the surveyed tanneries paid less than the minimum wage of Tk 13,500 as monthly minimum wage in 2024.
The research showed that the monthly expense on food for a tannery worker鈥檚 family amounted to Tk聽20,564, but the workers of the sector were able to spend only Tk聽10,312, which forced them to consume less protein than required.
The study also said that each of the worker鈥檚 family consisted of 4.6 members.
Tamim said, 鈥楥onsidering all the costs the minimum monthly wage for a worker should be Tk聽22,776.鈥�
The research also revealed that under the current wage structure, there are no mechanisms of promotion from one grade to another.
To ensure consistent grading practices in the country, the organisation proposed implementing a unified grading system that incorporated all wage board and CBA-based grades into a single framework consisting of five major grades.
The CPD said there was a significant lack of awareness among workers regarding wages and grading, and said that large-scale industry-oriented training programme must be implemented in cooperation with workers, owners, and the government.
Abdul Malek, general secretary of the Tannery Workers鈥� Union, said that though the CPD鈥檚 proposal did not align with their expectations, it told of the sector鈥檚 overall situation.聽
He further said that the union formulated their own proposal for a minimum wage of Tk聽25,000, which has been submitted to both the employers and the wage board for consideration.
Shaheen Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Tanners Association, said that implementing the CPD鈥檚 proposal about the minimum wage was not possible with rising production costs and a decrease in the unit prices of leather exports.
Minimum Wage Board chairman Liaquat Ali Mollah said, 鈥榃e will try to form an implementable wage structure that helps the industry鈥檚 sustainability as well as the well-being of the workers.鈥�
The research was conducted in collaboration with the Leather Development Forum and the OSHE Foundation, which will be presented to the minimum wage board.