Speakers at a workshop Monday stressed the need for creating wider awareness about occupational safety and health (OSH) among the workers and employers of the leather industry in Bangladesh.
They also emphasised ensuring better working conditions at tannery factories to reduce health risk of the workers and people living in the tannery areas.
International Labour Organisation (ILO) in association with Norwegian Embassy in Dhaka organised the daylong workshop on 'Designing Education Programmes for Workers in Leather Sector' in the CIRDAP Auditorium in the city.
More than 30 participants from the government, leather sector trade unions and manufacturers attended the workshop.
Speaking on the occasion Joint Secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment Khondaker Mostan Hossain said it is vital that the workers of the tannery factories and leather sector should have access to information relating to the risks associated with the sector and know the way to reduce the risk.
"It is very important that we ensure that the workers of the leather sector are consulted when we plan a programme for them to have the maximum impact. I hope this workshop will provide us with much needed insight of the sector," he said.
Ambassador of Royal Norwegian Embassy Merete Lundemo said decent work and fair globalisation are related important objectives on the Norwegian Government's agenda.
"Everybody must enjoy basic worker's rights, work in an environment where standards are respected, and receive their share of the wealth created," she added.
This workshop is intended to gather input from the union activists/workers in order to design training programme creating awareness of the worker at factory level on labour rights and obligation.
Acting Country Director of ILO in Bangladesh Gagan Rajbhandari said the Fundamental Rights and Labour Relations in Export Oriented Industries (FRLR) project, under which the workshop was organised, provides a unique opportunity to address workers' rights issues in the leather and shrimp sector along with readymade garment (RMG) sector.
"This workshop will lay foundation for a well-structured workers' education programme in leather sector soon," he said.
In his keynote paper, Tannery Workers Union (TWU) President Abul Kalam Azad said tannery sector workers receive unsatisfactory salary. Though there is minimum wage for tannery workers, owners do not comply with the scale.
At present, an unskilled tannery worker receives Tk 4,080 as basic pay and Tk 7,216 in total.
Abul Kalam Azad also alleged that tannery owners do not promote workers as permanent ones as per the laws concerned. So the temporary workers in the sector are deprived of casual leave, earned leave, medical leave, provident fund and many such benefits like permanent workers.
