Tannery factory owners have sent around 15,000 workers into forced leave saying that they have no production after the industry was relocated from Hazaribagh in the capital to the new tannery industrial park at Savar on the city suburb. Bangladesh Tanners Association treasurer and also executive director of Samata Leather Complex Ltd Mizanur Rahman said around 15,000 workers out of around 30,000 in the second highest foreign currency earning sector of the country were given vacation for different durations. He said almost all leather factory owners sent the workers into leave individually as some of them were yet to go for production while some other started partial production at Savar three months after utility services for the tanneries at Hazaribagh were stopped.‘If the tanneries have no work, how can we afford bearing the burden of workers’ wage,’ he asked, adding that the workers also agreed to the decision.Tannery Workers’ Union general secretary Abdul Malek alleges cashing in on the relocation crisis, the tanners are tactfully dismissing workers.Malek considers the leave indirect termination of workers and says that many tannery owners declared the leave before Eid vacation while others started the process after Eid citing that they could not start production as yet.He said the workers were living in uncertainty.Primarily, some workers were sent into leave for 15 days, some for 30 days while several hundred for an in definite period, said Malek.He explained that when a worker would be in uncertainty about his or her job, the needy worker would look for other sources of income or would leave the area where they were living in.‘In this way, the factory owners won’t have to pay the workers their legal benefits like service benefit, gratuity and the others,’ said Malek.Sunday morning, workers of Crescent Tanneries Ltd went to the factory and saw the notice which read that the authorities had declared leave for some workers for an indefinite period, said witness.The notice also did not mention any reason for the leave, they said.Many workers complained that the owners even did not talk to them before the leave was declared and left for them no other options.Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments deputy inspector general Jakir Hossain said any type of forced leave was violation of labour law.He said the factory owners could terminate any worker after paying all legal dues while only the worker of any factory could seek leave without pay when he/she would like to enjoy extra leave beyond what they were entitled to.Jakir, Dhaka district head of the department responsible for ensuring welfare, safety and health of human resources in various sectors, told New Age that if the workers would complain to them, they would take actions against the factories.A number of workers alleged that the owners threatened them with consequences if they would try to wage any movement over the issue.Bangladesh Tanners Association chairmen Shaheen Ahmed declined to explain why the tanners were doing the illegal act.BTA vice-chairman and also managing director of Arab Tanneries Pvt Limited Eliasur Rahman Babul told New Age that they sent into leave selected workers who were not useful to them.They, however, hoped that some tanners might call back their workers ahead of Eid-ul-Azha when 60 to 65 per cent of their total raw hides would be collected and some tanneries would resume their production by the time.‘A number of tanners may, however, fail to go for production even during the pick time, Eid-ul-Azha,’ said Mozibur Rahman Moju, owner of Pubali Tanneries Ltd, adding that the owners could extend the leave.The workers alleged that the owners were using the relocation issue as an opportunity to terminate the old workers who would get huge termination benefits.Worker leaders said the workers of tannery, the second highest foreign currency earning sector of the country, were leading an inhuman life after losing their income when they had hoped that their financial condition would become better after coming to the new industrial park.Around 200 tanneries were in production at Hazaribagh while the government in 2003 took a project to relocate 150 of them.
