Workers at tannery industrial estate in Savar face severe housing, healthcare and transportation crisis as the workers were left out of the relocation agreement of the industry, according to a study released on Sunday. The Asia Foundation and the Research and Policy Integration for Development jointly conducted study titled ‘the leather sector after the tanning industry relocation: issues and challenges.’ The NGOs released the study findings at a meeting at Daily Star building in the city. The study jointly presented by RAPID chairman Mohammad Abdur Razzaque and executive director M Abu Eusuf found that most of the tanneries in the estate were run by third party contractors and the units barely pay any attention to working hours and other forms of labour rights. It said that Tannery Workers’ Union had to negotiate a formal agreement with the tannery owners to pay the temporary workers at least Tk 8,000 per month whereas the permanent workers currently get about Tk 11,000 per month. The study identified poor housing facilities, lack of transportation and inadequate supply of pure food at low cost in nearby areas as big challenges for workers. It also found that there was no medical facility for the workers and small medical centres were located in Hemayetpur, bout 4 kilometres away from the TIE, while full-fledged medical hospitals were located more than 10 kilometres away. Study showed that that about 40 per cent of the respondents received gloves and boots from the factories while the remaining 60 per cent have received no personal protection equipment. It found that the Central Effluent Treatment Plant was not running at its fullest efficiency. The report said that sludge was dumped into the temporary dumping yard, which was likely to be filled up before the end of 2019 as dewatering tanks, sludge thickening, and sludge recycling processes were not installed yet. ‘First priority for the stakeholders should be making the CETP fully operational and second to emphasise on social compliance in the tannery sector,’ said Syed Manzur Elahi, former adviser to the caretaker government and one of the leading leather product businessmen. He said that following the environmental complaisance the leather sector would have to face labour issue as per the requirement of buyers. Manzur Elahi, also the chairman of Apex group, said that in the age of free market economy there was no mechanism to reduce the unite prices of leather and manufacturers would have to go for product development to compete the global market. He demanded establishment of a product development centre saying that most of the tanneries could not effort product development costs. Abul Kalam Azad, president of Tannery Workers’ Union, said that the tanneries were relocates from Hajaribagh to Savar with a hope but workers living condition would be improved in the new place. After the relocation, a few workers have died in workplace accidents due to lack of medical facility in the area he added. ‘If the health and safety issues remain unaddressed the image of the sector will be tarnished in the global market,’ Azad said. He also alleged that workers have been forced to work more than 12 hours and female workers were being deprived from maternity leave and such activities would create image crisis if lather sector. Md Saiful Islam, president of Leather Goods and Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association of Bangladesh, said that they had been implementing the remediation programme in the leather sector provided by the Leather Working Group. ‘If we can implement the prescription provided by the experts of LWG regarding environmental issue, our export would reach to at least $2.50 billion by 2021,’ he said. Former Bangladesh Bank governor Atiur Rahman moderated the event while Centre for Policy Dialogue research director Khondaker Golam Moazzem, Development Studies senior research fellow Nazneen Ahmed and Bangladesh Tanners Association chairmen Shaheen Ahmed, among others, spoke.
