CPD proposes Tk 22,776 as minimum wage for tannery industry workers

More than 60 percent of tanneries have not implemented the minimum wage structure declared six years ago, the CPD study finds

The Centre for Policy Dialogue, or CPD, has recommended Tk 22,776 as the minimum wage for tannery industry workers.

The private research organisation made the proposal to the five-member wage board formed by the government to declare the next wage structure for the tannery industry.

The research titled “Proposal for Minimum Wage for the Bangladesh Tannery Industry in 2024” is carried out by CPD in partnership with OSHE Foundation and the Leather Development Forum (LDF).

The labour-intensive tannery industry is Bangladesh's second highest export product, said Tamim Ahmed, a member of CPD’s study team who took part in preparing the research, at a media briefing titled “Challenges of Measuring and Implementing Minimum Wages in Tannery Industry” in Dhaka on Saturday.

“Nowhere in the world is there a minimum wage just for the tannery industry. No country has sector-specific minimum wage structures for any industry. The minimum wage is fixed at the same rate for workers in all sectors,” he said.

On the other hand, Bangladesh has declared separate minimum wages for sector-wise workers. The minimum wage is $146 and $138 in India’s Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively. Countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia have minimum wages ranging from $171 to $255. Thailand has recently raised it to $300.

The minimum wage in local tanneries is $123.

Stating the amount is very little, Ahmed said, “The minimum wage in the country’s garment sector is $114.”

The minimum wage for tannery industry workers was set at Tk 8,750 for the first time in 2011. For the fifth time, the wage was raised to Tk 13,500 (for urban areas) and Tk 12,850 (for non-urban areas) during the latest update in 2018.

More than 60 percent of factories in the tannery sector have not implemented the minimum wage structure declared six years ago, the study showed.

The government formed a new wage board to arrange the minimum wage in the tannery sector in July 2023. The labour organisations demanded the board raise the minimum wage to Tk 25,000. On the other hand, the owners proposed up to Tk 16,000 as minimum wage, according to Dr Khondaker Golam Moazzem, lead researcher of the study.

In 65 percent of tanneries, workers are paid in the second week of the following month, the study showed.